Charming Spell (Miraculous Lovebug series)
by iwritebadbutdealwithit98
Summary: Ladybug's "healing kiss" starts to feel like more than a hero's duty. A distance is formed between Ladybug and Chat Noir that leaves them both less-than focused during a heated battle. Maybe the distant feelings between them really meant being closer than ever.
1. Eyes On Me

Marinette let out a sigh. Ever since she "rescued" Chat Noir with a kiss, her head had been spinning. Day after day she faced him as though nothing had happened. Recently she discovered that she had formed the habit of looking him dead in the eye, previously she would give him mere glances. She also found herself staring at his lips when he spoke. Good thing he hadn't noticed, otherwise he would become suspicious and eventually find out about the kiss.

She knew that telling him would be a _cat_ astrophe. Great. Now she was making those dumb puns. The painful utterances that always escaped his lips. His _paws_ itively delicious lips. Oh God, what was she thinking? She had to focus.

"Marinette?" Alya gently touched Marinette's arm as the rest of her classmates began to exit the classroom. Marinette blinked and unconsciously looked at Alya wide-eyed.

"What's wrong? Adrien just looked at you, and you missed it! Something is definitely wrong," Alya squinted at Marinette.

"Oh… No no no! It's nothing, just overwhelmed by all that homework we were just assigned," Marinette struggled to find excuses for her absent-mindedness.

"Um, there wasn't any homework," said Alya, crossing her arms over her chest with just a _little_ bit of sass.

Marinette shut her eyes in distress. If only she could tell Alya.

"I'm _really_ sorry-" Marinette started when suddenly the ground shook and screams echoed through the hallways. Marinette and Alya ran out of the classroom and tried to figure out what was going on. Suddenly, Mrs. Bustier ran up to them.

"Girls, what are you still doing here? Both of you go home immediately! Some girl is rampaging the school, and she's doing it in style," Mrs. Bustier instructed.

As Mrs. Bustier ran into the classroom to make sure no student had been left behind, Marinette and Alya looked at each other.

"How do you rampage in style?" Marinette thought aloud.

"Let's go find out for ourselves," Alya replied.

 _I have to find a place to transform_ , thought Marinette.

Marinette and Alya ran down the hallways and spotted a gold clad girl turning the white floors to bright pink, and the lockers to solid gold with the wave of her hand. Alya pulled out her phone in awe, and narrated the scene. While Alya was occupied Marinette slipped away into the janitor's closet.

Adrien got up to leave the classroom when Chloe approached him.

"Hey Adrien! I was thinking, I have these great fashion designs that I'm sure your dad would _love_ to see," Chloe yelled loudly enough for everyone to hear.

Adrien glanced sideways at Marinette, who seemed to be lost in thought. He raised his hands defensively, "Uh no… sorry I don't think my dad is looking for designs from outsiders right now," he braced himself for the worst.

Chloe was too flustered to give her typical witty comeback. Adrien had just rejected her in front of _everyone_. She stormed out of the room as soon as the bell rang without another word.

Adrien sighed. He didn't have the energy to put up with Chloe. He couldn't stop thinking about Ladybug. She had been acting so strange lately. Maybe it was just him. She seemed so distracted around him. She had never been so out of it. Not that Adrien minded being the hero from time to time, but he was seriously worried.

 _I hope she's alright,_ He thought to himself. Adrien walked with Nino to the lockers. None of the usual stuttery good-byes from Marinette, how strange. He began to open his locker when he heard someone yell, "Fashion Passion!". Adrien spun around and found a girl shooting colors and fabrics all around the school. Although she seemed to be focused on him. He ran around the corner avoiding her enraged shots. As he ran his eyes darted from side to side in search of a place he could have some privacy. Ah, perfect! The janitor's closet. Without another thought he ran into the closet and shut the door before that insane girl was even around the corner. As he locked the door a pink flash bursted behind him. Adrien turned around carefully.

"Hello?" Adrien whispered into the darkness, "You aren't a minion for that crazy girl out there, right…?" He continued with uncertainty.

"Chat Noir?" asked a familiar voice.

Adrien froze, "L-Ladybug?" He said hesitantly.

"It's good to know you're already here, Chat," Ladybug said.

Adrien blushed. To think he was that close to finding out who Ladybug really was. What do you know, she really does go to his school, "Of course, I'm always here to keep you safe, My Lady," Adrien was playing it cool, when really, he had no idea what to do.

"Alright, well what are we waiting for?" Ladybug asked as she started to unlock the door.

Adrien grabbed Ladybug's hand, "wait!" He exclaimed.

Ladybug noticed his hand. Chat Noir had held her hand before, he had claws. This time she didn't feel any claws, just a normal, bare hand.

"Chat, you're not transformed yet are you?" Ladybug concluded.

"...No, I'm not." Adrien admitted.

Ladybug became slightly excited. Ever since the kiss, she desperately wanted to know who Chat Noir was. Her fingers were itching to open the door and shine the light on him. If only she had the night vision Chat Noir had.

Before she could open her mouth, a green light shown in her face.

"I'm all set, My Lady," Chat Noir smirked at Ladybug, even though she couldn't see him.

Chat Noir and Ladybug burst out of the closet. They were taken aback by the Barbie- Dream-House-like surroundings that used to be their school. They ran out the front door and found most of the streets were the same as the school.

"We'd better hurry if we want to stop this girl," Ladybug pointed out.

"Yeah, but what does she want?" Chat Noir asked.

"Whatever it is, it's bad news," she replied before she dashed down the road, following the bright and stylish path.

"I am Créatrice de Mode! I am looking for Adrien Agreste! If you don't want the Eiffel Tower to be a giant accessory, then you'll bring him to me now!" shouted the so-called 'Créatrice de Mode', hovering proudly next to the Eiffel Tower.

"Is there anyone who doesn't want Adrien?" Ladybug asked without thinking.

"What exactly do you mean by that?" Chat Noir, but mostly Adrien, asked in response.

Ladybug didn't answer. Instead she went for the attack on Créatrice de Mode. Now that she thought about it, she resembled Chloe, and she had been waiting for an opportunity like this one.

"Don't tell me you're in love with another man, My Lady," Chat Noir laughed, but Adrien listened intently.

"That's none of your business," Ladybug answered, more interested in trashing Créatrice de Mode. _Much_ more interested. Although she didn't quite know the answer herself.

Chat Noir began to lend Ladybug a hand. However, his mind was elsewhere. Could Ladybug really have fallen in love with him- _err_ -Adrien? Maybe it wouldn't hurt to tell Ladybug who he was… right?

Left and right, Créatrice de Mode 'fashionized' Paris, and used her 'rejection beams' to tear into things she didn't want. Ladybug wondered what it would do to a person.

Although Ladybug fought with all of her might, the battle didn't seem to be going well. Even though she thought she would be confident with all the thrill and revenge in her heart, she suddenly felt intimidated. Even though she had felt as though she could fling her across town. Chloe was one-upping her again. Where was the easy battle? What was up with Chat? He had never fought so clumsily.

Ladybug had had enough, she decided there was only one thing left to do, "Lucky Charm!" She cried out. Before her lucky charm landed in her hand, Créatrice de Mode zapped a beam at it and threw it out of reach. Ladybug looked behind her and found it was damaged from the attack, useless. No one had ever done that before. Now it had been a waste, and the clock was ticking.

"Oldest trick in the book," said Créatrice de Mode.

The dots on her earing went down to two, "Chat! I'm running out of time!" Ladybug declared.

With no response from Chat, she turned to look at him.

"Watch out!" Ladybug screamed.

Chat snapped out of it and barely missed Créatrice de Mode's attack.

"Pay attention Chat! Where is your mind wandering off to?" Just as Ladybug said this, one of Créatrice de Mode's beams was headed straight for her.

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir exclaimed. He didn't waste another second. He lept towards Ladybug and embraced her. Chat took the hit. They fell to the ground.

He grimaced, and then forced a cocky grin, "you should take your own advice, My Lady," he joked.

Chat Noir held Ladybug tightly. She didn't seem to respond. Chat looked at her, she was out cold. That's when he realised he had taken the hit, but she had taken the fall. He had landed on her. If only he had been more careful. Chat struggled to his feet, still holding Ladybug closely, cradling her head on his shoulder. A bright pink light blinded him.

 _Oh no_ , thought Chat. He looked down, Ladybug was no longer clad with her red and black polkadotted suit, but instead pink pants and a black shirt. Clothing he felt he recognized. Chat put his right hand over Ladybug's head, attempting to hide her face from bystanders. Then, picking her up, he made an escape. He heard Créatrice de Mode cackle in the background as if she had won. Hopefully there would still be time to stop her afterwards, but now was not the time.

Then, as if possessed by something, Créatrice de Mode was chasing after them. One second she was happy to see them run in fear, the next she is determined to keep them from escaping. He couldn't afford to try and face her alone. He was wounded, and Ladybug's identity would be revealed if he didn't hide.

Chat turned around and extended his staff towards Créatrice de Mode so that it would knock her in the face. Créatrice de Mode yelped as the head of the staff drove into her nose. Being the perfect little princess she was, she covered her face in agony and flew away crying. Chat let out a sigh of relief and ran off with Ladybug in his arms.

Chat stood motionless in front of his bed. Ladybug still sat in his arms. All the time he spent searching and digging for her secret identity, this was the moment. It was now as simple as laying her down and looking at her face. But he couldn't bring himself to it. Ladybug began to move, she was waking up.

Chat shut his eyes, "here goes…" he let her down gently.

Chat kept his eyes for a few seconds longer. He shivered a little. Then couldn't keep back the dumbest smile he had ever given.

"Chat?" Ladybug croaked.

Chat's face twitched. He slowly began to open his eyes.

"Marinette?!" Chat's eyes slowly widened.

Chat almost choked. Marinette felt her face for her mask.

Shocked, Marinette shot up, "what happened?! How did this… you know who I am?" The answer was obvious but she hadn't really taken the time to think.

Chat looked at Marinette, "yeah, you're transformation came undone while you were out."

Chat knew it was only fair, he let Plagg know it was time to undo the transformation. The green light flashed. Chat maintained eye-contact. Marinette gasped.

As the reality of the whole situation sunk in, Marinette nearly drove herself mad at the thought that Adrien _really_ _was_ Chat Noir. No amount of time waiting was going to change that. She wasn't going to wake up and realize it was all a dream. Adrien was Chat Noir. She felt so embarrassed. All those times shyly flirting with Adrien, trying desperately to tell him how she felt, yet simultaneously rejecting him bluntly as Chat Noir. What could Adrien be thinking of her now?

"Don't worry, I'm kinda embarrassed too," Adrien said, noticing her distraught expression, "It's not like either of us knew… besides this is good isn't it? Sure it looks as though we have been keeping our distances from each other because we thought we were in love with someone else. But in reality, this whole time, we've had our eyes set with each other,"

Marinette knew Adrien was right. They really had fallen for each other without even knowing it. Just like they had always wanted it to be. Marinette looked at Adrien, when it occurred to her, she was on Adrien's bed! Marinette's face turned as red as her earrings.

Adrien chuckled and sat next to her. He looked at Marinette reassuringly and gave her a hug. Marinette wrapped her arms around Adrien. He flinched and cried in pain.

"W-what's wrong?" Marinette asked, concerned and confused.

"I got hit by one of Créatrice de Mode's attacks. Don't worry, it's really not that big of a deal," Adrien lied as he stood up.

Marinette didn't think twice, "shut up and come here, Cha- uh, Adrien," she said, pretending to ignore her screw-up, when really she was kicking herself for talking to him like he was dumb, flirty Chat. Well he was. But he wasn't. Which one was the real Adrien?

"You'd better get used to calling me by the right name at the right time or else my secret identity will be in trouble," Adrien said, half-jokingly.

"Please, just- sit down," Marinette ordered.

Marinette blushed as she watched Adrien take off his shirt. She stared intensely at the slow unveiling of his abs. It wasn't the 8-pack she expected, but glorious nonetheless. After all, she was seeing Adrien shirtless! She could die happy now.

Then Adrien turned around and Marinette's face dropped. She thought Adrien's back would have a burn, but his back looked like it had been ripped into. Thankfully, it wouldn't scar, but it was ugly. There was a large circle traced around his back, as though someone had cut out the skin with a pair of scissors. Or as if his skin had been disintegrated. But it _wouldn't_ scar. Right? It just couldn't possibly scar, it wasn't that deep. It had hardly passed the second layer of skin. She knew this because instead of seeing ripped flesh and fatty tissues, she saw a layer of bright pink. Anatomy and Physiology class had finally come in useful.

Marinette knew she needed to stop obsessing over scaring and stop the bleeding. She noticed that the back of Adrien's white shirt was soaked bright red and there was a circular hole.

"Oh my God, Adrien why didn't you say anything?" Marinette exclaimed.

"Because he's a dumbass," said a third voice. Adrien ducked sheepishly.

" _Plagg!"_ he whispered desperately. Marinette peeked over Adrien's shoulder.

"What was that?" she asked.

"N-nothing!" Adrien shouted,clearly hiding something. Suddenly a black blur flew in front of Marinette. A small black cat, similar in size to Tikki.

"How rude, I'm far from nothing! Plagg, at your service… or maybe not," Plagg bowed sarcastically.

"Are you Adrien's kwami?" Marinette guessed aloud.

"Who else would I be? His fairy god parent?" Plagg responded, rolling his eyes.

"Plagg, don't be rude!" Adrien snapped. He turned around to look at Plagg and cringed, as every movement was excruciating. Marinette turned her attention away from Plagg. She was always watching Adrien, whether it was directly and painfully obvious, or if it was from the corner of her eye. Every action, every subtle expression, she analyzed. It was an obsession. Was it possible to care too deeply for someone? Her fingers curled like the ends of her black pigtails that rested low on her shoulders. They dug into the fabric of her pink capris as she pondered about the pure fantasy of reality she was currently experiencing. She had spent all of her high-school days thus far silently loving Adrien. She had studied him like a textbook. Watched him more than her own reflection, but perhaps that was because she had a picture of him taped to her bathroom mirror.

Maybe her ignorance of the person that is herself was the reason she dismissed the hidden feelings she had for Chat Noir. The reason she hadn't noticed how his smile made her heart jump. The reason she had almost purposely forgotten her artistic ability to connect the dots and see that clearly Chat Noir was Adrien.

Now she saw that Adrien and Chat Noir were one. Therefore they were both sitting in front of her. As she stared at the back of his head, she could see the resemblance. But the _thought._ The memory of the polar opposites that their personalities are, or were, disturbed her so much. They weren't opposites anymore, they were united as something new. Something she never knew, or never thought she knew. She had known a different side of Adrien this whole time. She _knew_ him. She no longer watched him, but she knew him. And now she was with him, alone in his room! How was this real? It just wasn't possible.

Adrien noticed Marinette had been quiet for a while. He glanced back slightly in attempt to give her his attention without feeling pain.

"Look, I'm really sorry to worry you like this, I just couldn't stand there and watch you get hit. And I didn't want you to know I was hurt either."

"No, it's not that. I-I just tend over think things. It's still kind of weird to me, you know?" she murmured.

"By 'it' you mean me, don't you?" Adrien held his tongue as he turned all the way around to face Marinette. Beads of sweat escaped his forehead as he refrained from letting out a scream. Marinette noticed.

"I mean… maybe," she looked down nervously, then looked back up to check on him.

"Well, I'm sorry that who I turned out to be disappointed you, but if I mean anything to you it means accepting me. _All_ of me," Adrien's gaze burned into Marinette's. This was the first time Marinette had heard such a serious, almost distant tone in his voice. It was as though he was very sensitive to anything considering himself, particularly when it comes to Marinette's opinion. It was strange, since he was a model, always having attention on him. Wasn't _everything_ about him already in the open? Well… except for the fact that he was Chat Noir.

"No! You aren't a disappointment. I'm just really confused, and a little embarrassed about that sorry excuse for a confession," Marinette blushed.

Adrien leaned back trying to recall any confessions. Then he realized she was talking about earlier that day during the battle. He laughed.

"Don't worry about it. It actually made me really excited, I had no idea you liked me,"

Marinette grinned shyly, "But _everyone_ likes you, Adrien,"

Adrien ran his fingers through his hair, "I guess, but that's different. _You're_ different,"

In that moment the room fell silent. Marinette and Adrien sat staring at each other. Adrien leaned in closer.

"Um, _excuse_ me! Plagg still exists! Heellloooooo!" Plagg placed himself in between Adrien and Marinette. Adrien made a sound resembling a hiss, but maybe it was just an angry sigh.

"Plagg! You little brat!" Adrien swung in Plagg's direction, not really intending to hit him. Plagg laughed and stuck his tongue out.

"What can I say? You were ignoring me," Plagg crossed his tiny arms, "that's unacceptable. Besides, you should be apologising to me!"

Adrien made a face, "Apologising?!"

"Yeah, I mean I knew it was Marinette this whole time. You never actually stopped to listen to me though. You guys sure are slow. You make a perfect match, isn't that right, Tikki?" Plagg looked confidently in the direction of Marinette's purse.

Adrien watched as a red figure peered out of the small pink bag.

"Except that you were never supposed to say anything in the first place," said the red being, apparently named Tikki.

"Yeah, yeah… quit acting as if I _did_ say anything," Plagg laid down in mid-air.

Adrien leaned back and sighed. As he did so he remembered there was a large hole cut out of his back.

He ignored the pain, "How could we be a perfect match if we couldn't even figure out we were together almost constantly. It just looks to me like only parts of us are good for each other." Plagg and Tikki exchanged concerned looks.

Marinette looked at Adrien, completely ignoring the statement he had made, because _seriously?_ Adrien is great, but he's still a man- well- boy. Boys can be so stupid, you tell them something and they think it's some sort of code. Marinette wasn't trying to confuse him, she told him he wasn't a disappointment! Well, maybe that wasn't _terribly_ direct. She needed to tell him exactly what she meant. Whether she liked to admit it or not, she had fallen for Chat. Now it was a lot easier to understand why. She didn't have to worry about staying "loyal" to Adrien anymore. Marinette shoved that thought to the back of her mind.

"Alright, where do you keep your medkits?" Marinette asked, ready to put even more of her Anatomy and Physiology and First Aid training studies to the test. She had chosen to take those classes knowing someone would wind up getting hurt eventually, and she needed to know her stuff.

Adrien blinked back into reality, he too had been lost in thought, "Oh, well that'd be in the medicine closet," but he was very good at jumping right back into a conversation.

"Medicine _closet?"_ Marinette arched an eyebrow, had she heard that right?

"Sure, all the prescription medicines, remedies, ointments, bandages, you name it. They're all in there," Adrien made a small gesture as if to show the variety contained in the closet, yet he was not impressed at what was coming out of his mouth.

"I mean, most people have a medicine _cabinet_. A closet?! That's- that's awesome! I'm sure I'll find what I need there, so where is it?" Marinette began to stand up, but Adrien raised his hands to stop her.

"Uh, woahwoahwoah. You can't leave my room and go running around my house!"

" _Uh,_ whywhywhy not?" Marinette said mockingly…accidentally.

Adrien paused for a moment, taken aback from the mockery. Sure, this was the everyday Ladybug attitude, but seeing it come out of Marinette's mouth made him uncomfortable. It was still her, why couldn't he get over himself? He was starting to understand where Marinette was coming from, being confused, and feeling embarrassed. This only put him deeper into a depressing hole of "we'll-never-work".

Just as Marinette began to regret going all Ladybug on him, Adrien laughed,

"There's My Lady," Adrien said with an uneasy smile, " anyway, you can't go out because Nathalie could catch you. Then we'd both be in trouble. _I'll_ go out instead."

"What?! No way! Not like that. I'm not gonna let you go bleeding your heart out all over the house," Marinette crossed her arms the way Alya always did when she was being a total idiot.

Adrien shrugged, "actually, my heart is in my chest, not my back."

Marinette was ready to burst, "Chat! I mean-"

"No, you can call me that. It excites me," Adrien smirked.

How could Marinette's hormones not go completely insane? It was so completely mentally paralyzing to see Adrien, with that stupid smirk, that goddamn smirk Chat always has.

With that, Marinette snapped, "I'll get it! And I know just how to do it!"

The sternness in Marinette's voice and the look in her eye let Adrien know it was time to back down. He nodded.

Adrien's bedroom door opened without a sound. A hooded figure poked it's head out. Coast was clear. A pair of green clad legs slowly revealed themselves as the figure slid out of the doorway.

Marinette had to refrain from screaming in pure joy as she snuck around Adrien's house in, get this, Adrien's clothes! She knew he had worn this particular outfit before too, as she had seen him wearing it on the cover of a magazine as he strolled leisurely with his eyes closed.

Carefully replaying Adrien's instructions in her head, she walked down the hall. Down the hall on the right, then a left, first door on the right. She opened the door to reveal what could've passed as a small pharmacy. Marinette went looking for any first-aid kit she could find. Got it.

"Adrien?" _Shit._

Marinette faked a cough, "Oh…" she said in a raspy voice, "Nathalie?" Of course it was Nathalie, who else would it be? Marinette didn't turn around to confirm it.

"Yes. What are you doing in there? Are you feeling alright? You sound horrible," said Nathalie.

Marinette wiped the sweat off her hands on the front of the dark brown hoodie, "Yeah, I'm feeling kinda under the weather. Just grabbing some medicine to hold me over."

"Well that first-aid kit won't do you any good," Nathalie said, looking at the white box under Marinette's arm.

Marinette quickly brought the box to her chest, "Oh, uh… I also cut my finger while doing my homework."

Nathalie took a step forward, "really? Let me have a look."

Marinette panicked, "actually, uh, I've got lots and lots of homework. I'd better get back to work!" With that, Marinette turned around quickly, ducked past Nathalie and dashed towards Adrien's bedroom.

"Wow, you did it," Adrien looked up at a wheezing hump of Marinette, who was laying down on the floor.

Marinette shot up and walked up to Adrien, triumphantly presenting the first-aid kit.

Adrien scratched the back of his head nervously, "sorry I ever doubted you Bugaboo-"

"Now turn around!" Marinette ordered, opening the first-aid kit.

Obediently, Adrien turned around, revealing the horrible wound once again. Marinette immediately got to work. She cleansed the wound with a wet towel from Adrien's bathroom, disinfected it, and began wrapping bandages around Adrien's torso.

Adrien kept quiet. His face was bright red. He stood still, other than the backward glances at Marinette. What could be going through her mind? All this time together, he had realized that he had gotten used to Marinette being Ladybug. Besides, it was 10x hotter when Marinette was scolding him. It was hot that Marinette was Ladybug. He decided he wasn't uncomfortable, he was just overwhelmed. I mean, could it get any better than this? Finally some alone time with Ladybug,and she was in his room. Bonus, turns out she was also Marinette? God is good. He always wondered what it was about Marinette. Now she was sitting behind him, tending to his injury. Now it was up to her how things would be between them.

"Adrien," Marinette started, Adrien held his breath, "I need to clear something out with you."

"Yeah?"

Marinette tightened the bandages around Adrien's back, "I was thinking about how I feel when I'm around Chat… and how he's you. It drove me crazy, but when I really thought about it, I knew it was a lot more serious than crushing on you at school," she finished winding and taped the end down.

"I thought I was crushing on someone I didn't even know that well. But I _do_ know you. I've been fighting alongside you this whole time. It's been amazing, I couldn't ask for a better partner. But I always ignored your feelings and saw you as a friend because, well, I had a crush on Adrien. Now I see the whole picture. That's why I know, that I don't like you," Adrien's jaw clenched shut.

"I love you," Marinette finally let herself say.

Adrien's tear-filled, green eyes shot up. Marinette stood up and walked around to look at him, "tail and all…" she finished. Adrien wouldn't wait any longer, he grabbed Marinette by the wrists and pulled her towards him. Their lips met. Marinette tried not to cry. Adrien held her tightly, as if he were holding the moment. Keeping the moment for just a little longer. Their mouths made a soft suction noise as they separated. They stood still, leaning on each others foreheads, time stood still.

Adrien broke the silence, "ha, if Chloe could see you now." Marinette giggled.

A couple seconds passed, with stiffness in the atmosphere. They slowly looked up at each other, wide-eyed, as reality hit them like a shovel to the face.

"Chloe!" They shouted in unison.


	2. Truth That Sets Free

Adrien and Marinette turned to their kwamis, who sat on the pillow beside them. Tikki's large eyes twinkled, half of her marveled at the sight of Marinette and Adrien so close together. The other half was disappointed in the pair's lack of responsibility and their overdose in slowness. Plagg on the other hand… was just eating cheese.

"Tikki!" Marinette called.

"Plagg!" Adrien yelled simultaneously.

"Way ahead of you," Tikki floated to Marinette, Plagg groaned as if to say he was strongly attempting to get up.

"Tikki, spots on!" Instantly Tikki was sucked into Marinette's earring. Marinette was enveloped in an enchanting rosy light. Swarms of sparkly pixie dust unveiling a different and stronger Marinette… Ladybug.

Adrien held his breath, quivering in awe. He knew Marinette was Ladybug, but it would take some getting used to. He really loved her. Turns out she loved him back. He knew Ladybug would never let him go with her in his condition. But he couldn't let her go alone, they were a team no matter what. If anything happened to her, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

Adrien stood up , "I'm going with you,"

Ladybug turned from the window she was preparing to leap through, "What? Are you insane? No way!"

"We're a team Ladybug. Marinette. We always have been, and I'm not gonna let anything get in the way of that. I'll be fine, I'd be in more danger if I stayed here as Adrien anyway," Adrien glanced down at his right hand and fiddled with his white ring. He glanced up at Ladybug, who was gazing downward at nothing in particular.

"Alright…" Ladybug was hesitant, but something about Adrien made her worry less.

Adrien smiled. But not like the fake smiles on the cover of magazines. Not even the smile he gave his friends every day. It was a new smile. Probably his first _real_ smile in a really long time.

"You won't regret this. Besides, the faster we finish this, the faster I can get out of these bandages and you can get some more of _this_ , am-I-right?" Adrien winked just like Chat always did. Ladybug's heart skipped at the appalling yet amazingly romantic sight of Adrien pretending to be Chat Noir. Of course, she had never even thought of the possibility of healing Adrien with her powers.

"J-just hurry up or I'll leave you behind," Ladybug brushed her bangs aside as if to uncover her eyes, but really she was trying to hide behind them.

"As you wish, My Lady," Adrien said with a bow.

Adrien turned to Plagg and said those magic words once again. Claws out. A different tone in his voice. The words had a meaning now. He and Ladybug were connected on a whole different level now. The unattended and neglected love had been sparked, his claws were out.

Chat Noir strolled up to Ladybug, who seemed a little dazed, "We're _amazing_ together," he took Ladybug's hand, "And that's why I'm never letting go of you."

The grasp of their hands tightened, but it was Ladybug who had tightened her grip. Ladybug looked Chat in the eye and smiled sweetly. Chat peered out the window, flashes of light caught his eye. He pulled out his staff and brought Ladybug's hand with his to the head of the staff.

"Hold on," he said.

Then he pressed a button on the staff and it stretched out to the ground. The staff threw the two of them above the buildings. Chat leaned forward and they plunged into the city.

Chat Noir and Ladybug ran the last block, guided by the colorful rays flying just a few hundred feet ahead.

Ladybug looked over her shoulder at Chat, "How are you holding up?"

"I feel great!" Chat nodded in Ladybug's direction.

Ladybug raised an eyebrow, "I'm impressed,"

Chat closed his eyes cockily and raised his biceps, "Guess I'm just that strong," Ladybug rolled her eyes and scolded Chat for running with his eyes closed.

They came to a stop as they approached the scene. Créatrice de Mode's fabrics flew in every direction. The fabrics weren't hitting objects or buildings, they were hitting people. She was building an army. Instantly, a mother and daughter were a tailor and a mannequin.

Ladybug squinted up at Créatrice de Mode, "This isn't good…"

Chat winced, and then beamed, "I knew you'd need me,"

Créatrice de Mode turned her attention to Chat and Ladybug, "So, you cowards have finally returned? How can you call yourselves heroes if you run away in fear?"

Chat Noir shrugged, "Your getup is just so atrocious we couldn't stand to look at it any longer,"

Créatrice de Mode growled and began throwing attacks at Chat.

Chat dodged them and continued, "I mean seriously, what were you thinking going out in public like _that_? Talk about social suicide,"

"Ugh, YOU'RE THE LAST PERSON I WANT TO HEAR THAT FROM!," Créatrice de Mode screamed.

Chat looked down at his costume, "Oh, am I really?", he said, caressing his sides.

Créatice de Mode shuddered as Chat winked up at her, "You don't know a thing about fashion,"

Adrien laughed inside, Chat pouted sympathetically-sarcastically, "What's the matter, you seem kinda touchy when it comes to fashion. I'm guessing I'm not the first to disagree with your style?"

Créatice de Mode bent forward with her hands on her hips, " _DON'T_ REMIND ME," and with a wave of her hand, her army was headed towards Chat Noir and Ladybug.

"You _had_ to make it worse?" Ladybug whined.

Chat laughed nervously as he pulled out his staff. In the amount of time Chat and Ladybug had been gone, the army had been able to grow very large. There was no way the two of them could take them on.

Ladybug puckered her lips teasingly as if she was withholding some good news (much like how she puckered her lips to kiss Chat not too long ago and he _still_ doesn't know about it), "Luckily, you served as a distraction and bought me time to think," Ladybug lifted a red, polka-dotted flared dress.

Créatice's army stopped right in their tracks, "Oooh! That _dress_! I absolutely _must_ have it! Gimmegimmegimme!" Créatice floated down eagerly to retrieve the dress herself.

For about five seconds, Créatice de Mode stood still, a purple butterfly framed her cloudy eyes.

Créatice raised her index finger to her temple, "Yeah, in a minute...", and in an instant she was back to drooling over the dress.

Créatice shot her hands out in attempt to grab the garment, forgetting about the sketchbook she had been clutching, which dropped to the ground, "Aha!" Ladybug exclaimed, swooping for the book.

She then ripped the book in half, and out slipped a dark purple butterfly.

Chat watched as Ladybug "de-evilized" the akuma, and threw the dress into the sky. A pink cloud swept through the sky, turning giant shoes back into cars, and the Eiffel Tower returned from being a giant bejeweled earring. Ladybug noticed Chat was standing a little bit straighter.

Chat Noir and Ladybug did their classic fistbump, " _Too_ easy," Ladybug said.

Chat touched his back, "Yeah, you didn't need me after all,"

Ladybug's smile faded, "That's not true at all! How could you say that after all that other stuff you said?"

Chat looked up, "Well-"

"Remember how she shot my Lucky Charm right out of the sky?" Ladybug continued.

"Yeah…"

"It wouldn't have been possible this time if you hadn't kept her busy,"

"But-"

"And who knows what would've happened if you hadn't been there to protect me..."

At this Chat and Ladybug paused, staring at each other.

Chat took a deep breath, "Do you wanna… go out someplace?"

Ladybug blinked twice too many times, "Sure…"

A voice whimpered from below them, "What's going on? Ladybug?!"

There lie a shrivelled up Chloé Bourgeois, scared and confused.

"Oh… right," Ladybug slouched, mentally preparing herself to give the usual pep talk… which was going to be difficult. Especially without laughing.

"Chloé," Chat Noir cut in as Ladybug was opening her mouth.

Chat knelt on one knee in order to be at eye level with Chloé, "You shouldn't let other people determine who you are, or depend on them to approve of your decisions. Even if it's someone you deeply respect. If there's something you want to pursue, something you love, then what another person says shouldn't discourage you,"

Chloé let herself go for a second, "What if your passion is more on that person you respect, than anything else?"

Chat sighed, "Then you need to change your focus. They might be holding you back. Sometimes, you hurt yourself, waiting for someone to match your feelings. Whether you cover it by faking happiness, desperately try to force a connection with that person, or both… it's not helping anything. Things won't always go your way. People won't always act the way you expect or want them to. Be free, do whatever you want, never let a person consume who you are," Chat got up and watched Chloé's face drop, then added, "Don't worry, you'll find someone new," then turned and gestured to Ladybug to leave with him. Ladybug nodded, with a baffled look on her face, and they began to walk away together.

Chat looked down at his feet, thinking about what he'd just said. Not sure if he had said it for Chloé, or himself.


	3. Cat out of the Bag

Ladybug watched her feet swing back and forth over the edge of the wall on her roof. Chat was leaning back on his palms, looking to the stars, but not seeing.

"Sorry I decided not to go out somewhere, I just thought sitting here with you would be better," Ladybug murmured, staring at Chat's silhouetted murmured, staring at Chat's silhouetted profile.

Chat's glowing green eyes shifted towards Ladybug, "It's because of what I said just now isn't it? You really shouldn't worry about it…"

"I can't just ignore it!" Ladybug insisted.

"Maybe I'll tell you some other time," Chat turned around and slid off of the wall. Ladybug followed him as he laid down on the roof.

She sat down and pointed behind him, "You know, there's a much more comfortable beach chair back there,"

He smirked, "It's okay…", then frowned, "I'm used to being supported by something hard and cold,"

"See, you can't just say something like that and expect me to not care,"

Chat sighed and sat up, "Fine, I guess I've already said too much to stop now,"

Chat rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He'd never really spoken to anyone about his dad. Sure, some knew he was strict, but most parents are strict. Most parents also have a relationship with their children, something Adrien and his father lacked. They used to be a happy family, Adrien was the beloved son of his parents, but things changed dramatically. Now, Adrien felt, he was nothing more than offspring, a descendant. Maybe even less than that, a pawn, a paraded trophy, a trapped possession. It was best to tell someone, and who better to tell than his beautiful Lady?

"You might know, my dad isn't the most … _emotional_ person in the world," chat started, gesturing vaguely on the word _emotional_.

Ladybug nodded, "Yeah, he never seemed likely to go out and have fun. Nino's determination to give you that fun is what caused that questionable birthday party last year. But I've spoken to him, he's really proud of you,"

Chat looked down briefly, "yeah, well… pride isn't the same as love, you know?", he paused for a moment, "I don't think my dad understands or remembers how to love anymore. He's got different priorities now,"

Ladybug tilted her head, "Why? What are his new priorities?"

Chat's head dropped suddenly, his fingers locked around each other. He swallowed hard. Ladybug heard a faint attempt to speak. A small, tight voice.

Ladybug laid her hand on Chat's arm, "Chat?"

He jumped a little, then looked up at Ladybug, "Sorry-" his voice cut for a moment, his throat was clenched like a fist. His eyes were watery, but he looked away to let the wind blow them out of Ladybug's sight.

Chat inhaled shakily, "My mom…", Chat looked Ladybug dead in the eye, "I really love her. She always seemed to be glowing. She was colorful, graceful, elegant, kind, patient… but one day, she just disappeared. My dad hasn't been the same ever since, he seems more like my boss than my dad,"

Suddenly Ladybug felt a wave of guilt for having two loving parents. It wasn't something she was supposed to or expected to feel guilty for, but she didn't know how else to feel. Especially with all the complaints she's given about her life. Now, it seemed luxurious, and that was in comparison to a rich family, go figure.

Ladybug blinked away sympathetic tears, "I'm so sorry,"

Chat shifted his body to face Ladybug, "Nah, that's life…"

That's what he said, but he thought differently. He was always wondering what he did to deserve everything that happened as he grew up. Regardless of whether or not his father had "changed" that didn't mean he was the most kind and loving father in the world at any given point. Adrien's mental support, understanding of love, perspective of life, his _everything_ , was his mother. When she disappeared, she didn't take anything. All of her valuables stayed behind. Why couldn't she have taken _him_ with her? Adrien knew he would have gladly left behind his modeling career and life as he knew it to be with his mother. Instead, it was "life as he knew it" that left him.

Adrien's inner self had started to fade away. The battle with his father's strictness and cold-heartedness had become a battle with himself. His father was all he had left, he cared about his father, he had to do whatever his father wanted him to do. It meant everything to please him, to make him happy. Then, maybe he would be proud of him for being his son, not for being the face on his next magazine issue. Maybe he was just overprotective now, maybe he wanted to see a son that was talented in the ways he wanted to be. Fluent in Chinese, skilled in fencing… those must be the reasons his father was that way. In no way could he possibly be meaning to suppress Adrien's identity. He's cold, but he isn't _evil_.

Adrien was starting to feel as though he wasn't just modeling his father's clothes. He was modeling his reputation, elegant and reserved on the outside, with the unknown darkness and chaos on the inside. Another motivator to keep himself in check, stay "behaved", another reason to hide himself. He wasn't lying about his personality, everything he said and did was pure and kind, but he wasn't telling the truth either, he wanted to have fun and let go sometimes. It would feel great if he could laugh loudly, yell and run around, and act rambunctiously just for a little bit. He just wanted to do what _he_ wanted. Something he couldn't do under his father's watch. He had to pose as the son his father craved. Was he a man or a mannequin? Well… neither, he was 16, so technically he wasn't a man yet.

Slowly, he became rebellious. It started with breaking away from homeschooling, which, his father eventually tolerated. But that wasn't enough. Adrien was stuck, he wanted to keep pulling away, but he couldn't even get his father to accept his new friendships at school, much less his true self. He was both reflecting his father's robotic template, and hiding behind a smile. To make things worse, his only friend as he started school was being slashed by everyone as a real bitch, and he had already made a bad impression on someone. He wanted to be liked by everyone. If he couldn't be liked as the perfect son of a famous designer, he would never be liked if he was himself. Once again, all the odds were against him, and he couldn't be comfortable in his own, flawless skin.

Everything changed with the slipping-on of a ring. In a flash, he could be someone entirely new. Mysterious, fresh, nameless. He was free. Now he could be himself without a worry of opinions, he could be responsible and kind when he wanted to, or energetic and sarcastic. He could forget about _purr_ fect _paw_ sture for a moment, and even crack a few jokes. Slouch, be clumsy, but taking advantage of a few fencing skills every now and then. All because of the ring. An accessory he wore that wasn't under his father's control. A fashionable item that was stylish but still reflected him. The ring that led him to Ladybug. She reminded him of someone. She was always ready, outgoing, so… _miraculous_. He felt as though everything was ok again when he was around her. As Chat Noir, he was happiest. He was free, and he was in love. She brought happiness back into his life.

The second to last claw on Chat's ring blinked away. Ladybug had one more spot on her earring. They didn't care. They hardly noticed.

Chat looked up at the starry sky, his voice still shaky, "I'm never 100% myself at school. It's because of my dad. I can't really afford to get out of line or I'll upset my dad. I could be taken out of school and who knows what else. It felt horrible. Earlier, I was kinda saying, that maybe I should just forget about pleasing my dad all the time, and do what I want. But that's easier said than done… I just- I dunno…", he sighed and his breath quivered. He fell silent and frowned. His doleful expression pierced Ladybug's heart.

Ladybug smiled gently, stroking Chat's head, whose glistening eyes gazed longingly at her. She slid her hand down to Chat's cheek. His head leaned into her hand like a cat rubbing its face into the palm of an outstretched hand , "I didn't know you were going through so much," Ladybug whispered, "It's just that you did a really good job at pretending to be happy all the time, but-"

Chat interrupted, "I wasn't always pretending. When I met you, just spending a day with you, just having the opportunity to fall in love with you, it made me happy. You got me through each day with a smile on my face,"

Chat's ring blinked, so did Ladybug's earring. A flash of green and pink. Adrien and Marinette sat staring at each other. They listened to the traffic pass by. They leaned in and their mouths brushed, and steadily they pressed together. Adrien accidently let a tear slip away. He hoped Marinette wouldn't notice. She did notice, as the tear fell onto her cheek and slid off her chin.

They pulled away from each other.

Marinette held her hand against her chest, "Go for it,"

Adrien looked up at Marinette, "Huh?"

"You said you wanted to be yourself, what's there to be hesitant about? I love you the way you are, everyone else will too," Marinette held Adrien's hand.

Adrien sniffled and looked down awkwardly, Marinette laughed, "Do you need a glass of water?"

Adrien didn't say anything for a moment, then peered at Marinette sheepishly, "... And a cookie?"

Marinette grinned and nodded. The two of them slipped into the opening above Marinette's bedroom.

Tikki and Plagg, who had stayed behind, glanced at each other.

Tikki laughed, "Seems they've forgotten about us for a little bit,"

Plagg snarled, "Jerks,"

Then they smiled and flew into the room.


	4. (Chocolate-Covered) Strawberry Time

Marinette tip-toed down the stairs and into the blue hallway. A dim light leaked from upstairs, she wanted as little light on as possible in order to keep from waking her parents. She watched her shadow crawl ahead of her, it's movements mocking hers, fingers curling and bending against a corner like vines inching towards the bakery. _This way,_ the shadow seemed to whisper as it lingered at the threshold below her. Carefully, she stepped into the bakery. The wooden floor creaked, Marinette blew a soft hush at her feet.

She crept up to a jar of chocolate chip cookies, labeled _Leftovers_. Her family would put leftovers in a jar, and would not sell them since they were no longer fresh. Instead of throwing perfectly good pastries out, they saved them to serve as samples in the morning. Anything left after that, belonged to Marinette and her parents. She plucked one large cookie out. Almost the size of her hand, it reached the first joint of her middle finger. The cookie was soft and delicate, so she wrapped it in a napkin and held it with an open hand. Walking back up the stairs, Marinette never looked back to the refrigerated, chocolate-covered strawberries. Not once.

Before going up to her room, Marinette stopped by the kitchen to pour a cold glass of water. She placed three ice-cubes into the glass. She thought one of the ice-cubes looked like a heart. Tikki, who had followed her, didn't seem to think so. Marinette stopped at the foot of the stairs leading to her room. Grinning down out at her hands, she giggled and squealed excitedly. In her excitement, she jogged in place. She held the cookie to her mouth, as if to kiss it. Marinette quickly turned off the light and ran up the stairs.

Marinette's hand were full, so she was unable to open the trap door above her, and Tikki wasn't able to open it either.

She grasped the cookie and knocked gently with the back of her middle finger, "Adrien? I'm back, but I can't open the door,"

The door creaked open and the light of her room flooded down the stairs. Adrien was kneeling in front of the opening, his left arm holding the door up. He was backlit, his emerald eyes glistened, and his golden hair shined. Marinette stood in his shadow, a reminder that he really was there waiting for her. In her room. Thank goodness she had kept those posters of Adrien down after the gaming competition.

Marinette walked the rest of the way up the stairs as Adrien placed the door gently on the floor and stood up. Adrien straightened himself and Marinette stepped into the room, meeting his gaze, she raised the chocolate chip cookie and glass of water, "Order up!"

Adrien's eyes gleamed, but the corners of his mouth suddenly twitched downward. His face expression changed like a tug of war between his emotions, a wave of guilt hitting him.

He took the glass and wrapped cookie shyly, "Oh gosh, sorry… I didn't mean to make you run around and get stuff for me. Like some stereotype jerk boyfriend,"

Marinette flinched at the word boyfriend, then blushed, "Aw, is that all you were worried about? It's no big deal. I offered, didn't I? I wanted to," Adrien bit his lower lip and walked over to the pink chaise next to Marinette's desk.

Marinette followed slowly and sat on the floor next to watched him practically inhale the cookie. His face expressed true joy. His eyes were eager, he licked his smiling lips. Marinette's gaze fell to Adrien's torso. Wrapped in tight bandages, it looked like he was wearing the next v-neck cross strap in mummy fashion.

Adrien followed her eyes, and scrambled to swallow his last bite, "Ah, that's right! I can take this off now. I feel fine, honest! Your miraculous fixed everything,"

Marinette started hopefully, "Oh, really-", Adrien began stripping the bandages off , Marinette was flustered, "W-wait! Hold- you aren't- you can't… GAAHH," she covered her eyes clumsily.

Adrien raised an eyebrow innocently, "What? You were the one who bandaged me… you literally _just_ saw me shirtless a few hours ago,"

Marinette brushed her hands aside to her her bright red cheeks, "But this is different!"

Adrien chuckled and knelt next to her. He raised his arms to present himself, "Go on and get used to it. Feast your eyes," he lowered his head to peer into Marinette's nervous eyes, "C'mon, _look_ at me," He nodded approvingly.

Marinette hesitantly raised her eyes, "Ok…" she squeaked.

Adrien released a scheming smile, Marinette swore she saw black cat ears on his head for a second. It was just her terrified eyes giving flashes of hallucination.

Adrien leaned forward tauntingly, "Now hug me,"

Marinette had to push down on her mouth to suppress an outraged scream. Adrien saw that he was overwhelming her, and leaned back regretfully. Maybe it would take a little easing in before he could really relax around her. Chat Noir _was_ always embarrassing her after all.

Marinette folded into herself and fell silent. Adrien raised his hand to try to calm her, "Sor-" Marinette jolted toward Adrien and hugged him, like she was determined to stop being so easily petrified. Much like Ladybug, except without pushing anyone away. Because she loved him, and wanted him to know that. He was surprised. His smugness faded to a gentle smile. Marinette's embrace was tight and shaky. Touched and supportive, Adrien stroked her hot face with the back of his hand, and stretched his fingers through her hair. He kissed the top of her head. Marinette's shaking settled, and her tight breaths relaxed. Adrien carefully slipped the red scrunchies out of her hair and ran his fingers from the roots to the ends.

He noticed the softness of her hair. She noticed the loving sincerity in his every stroke. Adrien hadn't felt this amount of closeness in a long time. There was a bitter-sweetness to the moment for him. His thoughts halted as he heard a sniffle, he pushed away and looked at Marinette.

She looked up and shook her head, "Sorry, I'm easily moved,"

Adrien's eyes rested with relief and understanding. He leaned his head against hers, holding her left hand with his right.

Marinette twisted Adrien's white ring back and forth with her thumb, "Adrien?" Adrien hummed a questioning response.

Marinette puckered her lips nervously to one side, "What you said earlier… are we boyfriend and girlfriend?"

Adrien answered straightforward without having to think about it, "Yes," then caught himself, "I mean, I thought- are we not? If you didn't-,"

"I'm glad," Marinette whispered.

Adrien blushed and checked the time on his phone, 11:01, "Listen, it's getting late. May I just stay here with you? No one will even notice I'm gone,"

Marinette wrinkled her nose, "Not even that annoying nosy lady?"

Adrien snickered, "You mean Nathalie? Nah, it'll be fine. When I close my door, no one hardly ever bothers me. Besides, I think I locked it before we left. I always do,"

Marinette looked down at her hand in his, "I just don't want you to get in trouble,"

Adrien rolled his eyes, "It wouldn't be anything new,"

Marinette jumped back, " _Shut_ up,"

"No, really. I'll get in trouble for the dumbest things. I wasn't even supposed to go to school, I used to be homeschooled-"

"But you're _such_ a goody-goody," Marinette cut in.

Adrien's face turned red, "Hey!" he exclaimed, slightly offended. Marinette laughed and apologized.

Adrien shrugged, "But it's like I said before, I have to be a "goody-goody"... not that I want to be. It's so boring. So what the hell! Let me stay here for the night, I won't tell anyone," Marinette eventually came around and opened her mouth to consent, when Adrien added, "As long as you don't tell Alya,"

Marinette's lips formed a small "O" as if she were about to whistle, the sudden requirement caught her off guard. Alya. She was already on Alya's radar for earlier today, how was she going to keep _this_ from slipping out.

Adrien's eyebrows furrowed, almost teasingly, "Is there a problem?"

Marinette's eyes shifted, "...No. But what if she gets mad at me!" Adrien's face mocked sympathy. Marinette wanted to get mad for the sarcasm, but it was true. It's not like she was alone in the secretive risk, "Fine,"

Instantly Adrien's face lit up and his eyes were as wild as a toddler's. Marinette already knew she had made the right decision, and wasn't going to regret it.

Marinette rubbed her earring bashfully, "Oh yeah, where are Tikki and Plagg?"

She heard a familiar voice scoff to her right, "Wow, it took you this long to remember we existed?" Marinette followed the voice and found Plagg and Tikki sitting near Adrien's glass of water. Plagg was munching on the crumbs Adrien had left behind from the cookie, Tikki was watching in disgust.

Tikki waved Plagg aside and flew up to Marinette, "It's fine, this is a crucial moment for the two of you," Marinette and Adrien tittered softly.

Ticki turned to Plagg and Adrien, "Anyway… you boys need to turn around that way while Marinette changes," Adrien swallowed hard.

Marinette almost tripped while sitting, somehow, "Change?!"

Tikki nodded, "Of course, you weren't going to sleep in those tight capris, were you?"

Marinette looked down at her clothes, maybe it wasn't the most comfortable thing to sleep in. She had slept in them once, although it was a car, she knew that the jacket had a bad habit of riding up in the armpit, and her capris would itch. Don't even get her started on bras, any girl that's tried to sleep in a bra knows it's a deadly mistake, never to be repeated.

Marinette glanced sideways, "What about Adrien?" Tikki looked over at Adrien, who was wearing thick blue jeans. Adrien looked around, confused and embarrassed.

Tikki, knowing Marinette, asked, "Do you have anything for him?"

Marinette nodded towards her desk, "Well, I did sew some sweatpants.. but they're kinda girly,"

Tikki glanced at Adrien, "That's fine, I'm sure it's better than jeans… or nothing," she said, Adrien nodded in agreement.

Marinette whispered so that only Tikki could hear, "Although I wouldn't say they were better than _nothing_ ," they giggled amongst themselves.

"What?" Adrien looked at them curiously. Marinette just waved at him to ignore them, and went to get the sweatpants.

Marinette handed the sweatpants to Adrien, and went to grab her pajamas. They turned to face opposite of each other. Although they couldn't see each other, they felt more embarrassed than ever. Even so, Marinette didn't find it necessary to hide behind her small green Japanese room divider. Besides, it was more the size of a desk divider if anything. If she were to hide behind it in the corner where her desk was, it would actually be closer to Adrien's field of view.

Adrien quickly slipped into the sweatpants. Which made him more embarrassed, but he wasn't sure if it was because it had pink flowers, or if it was because it was made by Marinette. Marinette was still undressing, so Adrien had to stand patiently as he stared at the wall.

Plagg came up to Adrien, "Wow, you sure have great willpower. Obediently watching that fascinating wall,"

Adrien sneered, "Quiet," he whispered.

Plagg whistled and swooned, trying to tempt Adrien. Adrien glared at Plagg, "I could strangle you right now,"

Plagg smirked, "Oh look at that, woah…"

Adrien inhaled violently, "Stop looking, you're so disrespectful and rude,"

"Oh man, this is the best part," Plagg muttered.

"Shut _up_ ," Adrien ordered.

"This is the best time to take a peek, trust me. Do it now, while you have the chance," Plagg teased.

" _You_ are the _Devil_ ," Adrien rebuked.

Marinette called behind him, "Ok, I'm ready,"

Adrien turned around slowly, and they looked at each other.

"Hey," Adrien mumbled.

"Hey," Marinette echoed.

Plagg was going to say something, but Tikki flew over and stopped him. Tikki pulled him over, and they got out of Adrien and Marinette's business.

Adrien walked over to Marinette, he noticed the glass of water he had left. He bent over to pick it up, "I think we should get some sleep now, it's nearly midnight,"

"Yeah, where do you want to sleep?"

Adrien looked down at the glass. The heart-shaped ice that stood in between the other two had already melted, allowing the two remaining cubes to stick next to each other.

He looked up with a sly grin, "You're leaving it up to me?"

 **I would like to add that this is not going where some of you may think it is. Nothing is going to happen. These are innocent children trying to be playful and cute. This fan fic is rated Teen and will remain that way, I do not plan to go into the Mature direction. Thank You :)**


	5. Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty

It was a late Saturday morning. Marinette woke up feeling refreshed. Her chest felt slightly tight, her breaths were small and steady; indicating a sound sleep. Her muscles were unbelievably relaxed. She couldn't be more comfortable. Though as her mind steadily drifted into a fully alert reality, she realized she could definitely be more comfortable. Her senses faded in and she wished they hadn't. She thought she must've slept in a bad position - though having dreamt soundly - as she began to feel a sharpness driving into her side. A pressure cold lingered around her toes. A soft snore pulsed beside her.

Now, Marinette knew that she slept on her back, the way she was at the moment, so there was no reason for her side to hurt. All of her limbs were outstretched in funny twists, her arms high above her head; she wasn't sleeping on top of them. She also knew that she's always careful to keep her feet covered by the blanket at night, to avoid getting cold. And Tikki was certainly not a snorer. Marinette turned her head slightly to the left. There, in peaceful slumber, lied Adrien; face down, his face towards Marinette.

He smelled lightly of cologne, but not an obnoxious one. Marinette thought it resembled the scent of oranges, with just a hint of vanilla. His facial expression was soft and sweet, like, well like a kitten. His mouth was faintly open, blond strands of hair rested delicately on his cheeks; they were almost long enough to touch the corners of his lips. His bangs fell neatly, like a golden waterfall, unveiling his forehead. His left elbow was burrowed beneath Marinette's waist. She found that he too slept rambunctiously, except he more carelessly stole some of her space. His cold feet cuddled against Marinette's; clearly his intention was to warm up, but at the cost of a cold Marinette.

After the few seconds it took Marinette to take it all in, she jumped up suddenly and pulled the blanket up to her chest, "WHAT IN THE…", oh that's right, Adrien stayed the night. But she hadn't remembered agreeing to sharing her bed. Marinette watched Adrien wake from her loud outburst. He looked somewhat pissed, but he forced a gentle expression as he opened his mouth to speak. Marinette saw his lips moving, but heard nothing in her innocent terror over the circumstances.

Adrien squinted impatiently, "Marinette? Did you hear me?"

Marinette blinked, "Huh? No… not really,"

Adrien grumbled and faded back into sleep. Marinette stared down at Adrien. She started to calm down, when someone called from downstairs.

"Marinette?! Aren't you up yet? Alya's here and you haven't had breakfast," following her mother's muffled calls, was the lovely aroma of chocolate croissants and scrambled eggs.

Marinette's eyes widened, "Oh! I'll be right down, Mama," she then turned back to Adrien, feeling sorry for having to wake him again.

"Adrien…" she whispered, touching his shoulder.

Marinette was greeted with a lazy grunt, and a frustrated brow.

She tried again, "Adrien… you have to get up. Go transform and escape out through the balcony!"

Adrien's tired lips spat out poorly enunciated words. It was hard to comprehend what he'd said, especially since his face was pressed against a pillow, "Whap? Whai?! Lemme alobe…"

Marinette rolled her eyes, "Because it's late, and I don't want anyone to see you!"

Adrien fell silent. Then a snore rose back into it's hearty rhythm.

Marinette wasn't having it, she slapped poor Adrien's bareback, "Stupid cat!", she was careful to sound angry and firm, while keeping her voice low enough so that it wouldn't be heard downstairs, "Get _up_."

Adrien tensed as his back throbbed from the sharp sting, "Ow! Cut it out! Damn, can't a guy get his beauty sleep?" violently he moved his pillow further away from Marinette and slammed his head into it, facing the wall, as though he was now sleeping to be rebellious.

Marinette ran her fingers through her hair, "My God, _Sleeping Beauty_ , I didn't know you were such a grouch in the morning,"

Adrien whipped his head around and glared at Marinette through sleepy eyes, "And _I_ didn't know you were such an annoying brat!"

Marinette's mother called once again, "Marinette?"

"Just a minute!" Marinette tried not to sound frustrated or forcefully cheerful.

Marinette turned back to Adrien, who seemed to have fallen asleep while talking. His mouth was hanging open and his lips were snarling. His eyes were half open and his finger - which had been pointing accusingly - slowly began to curl like a burning leaf, back into a relaxed fist. Marinette stretched out her hand, ready to grab a handful of _Goldilocks_ hair, and yank it.

"Alright, ready or not, I'm coming up!" Alya's voice came from the bottom of the stairs.

The white wooden panels of stairs creaked, Alya's sneakers clapped against each step. Marinette could almost hear her chanting, _Fee... Fi… Fo… Fum._

"Oh no… Adrien! It's urgent this time!" Marinette was frantic.

Adrien smacked his lips and scratched his lower back, " _This_ time?"

Ignoring the sarcasm, but taking note of it for later, Marinette pushed Adrien over on his back, "Yes! You have to hide…"

"Ugh, can I hide here?" He said groggily.

"Not unless you can completely flatten yourself, and STOP SNORING," Marinette yelled in a whisper, "Alya is coming upstairs as we speak!"

There was a soft knock on the door, but it seemed as loud as a car alarm to Marinette. In her nervousness Marinette didn't fully listen to Alya's dangerously clearer voice, but she heard something about I can't believe you forgot today's plans… and I'm coming in.

Marinette's news made Adrien instantly alert, well… barely. He shot up to a sitting position, all his sluggish mouth could sputter was, "Whaa?"

"Hope you're not getting dress-" Alya's sing-songy voice cut short, she looked speechlessly at Marinette's loft bed. Suddenly Adrien was wide awake. He and Marinette turned bright red simultaneously, like street lights.

Alya's face was a strange mix of angry, and excited for all the juicy information, "Well…", she crossed her arms, "I can't wait to hear all about _this_."

Marinette tried to climb down from her bed, rambling nonsense. Alya smiled sarcastically. As Marinette tossed her leg over to the first step of the ladder, Adrien lunged forward. He grabbed for anything he could to stop Marinette, which ended up being the elastic band of the pajama pants.

He kept his voice low, "Wait! Marinette… will she keep this a secret?"

Marinette's arms flailed and found their way to covering her back, pushing Adrien's hands away, " _Gack_ , Adrien… I don't know, geez," she turned around and scowled at him.

Adrien was taken aback, "Marinette, are you mad at me? Why…"

Marinette climbed down, taking note to _never_ answer the question. What an idiot.

Marinette walked up to Alya cautiously, laying her hands on her shoulders,"Ok, this is all just a BIG misunderstanding… AHAHAHAHA," the ridiculously fake laughter made Alya more impatient. Adrien climbed down shakily. Alya stared at the bright pink flowers on Adrien's sweatpants. Adrien followed her gaze, then flinched. Great, what could she possibly be thinking.

Alya's index finger shot downwards to Adrien's pants, "OK, and WHY is he in your pants?" she swiped her glasses off and rubbed them with the corner of her shirt, putting them back on… nope, the flowers were still there. Was this supposed to be some sort of weird kink?

Marinette stuttered, "Alya! Don't put it that way… and those aren't _mine_ , I just made them. They don't belong to anyone yet," she scratched the back of her head. Her very messy bed-head.

Adrien pulled on the sides of the sweatpants like a tutu and grinned shyly.

Alya inhaled quickly through her nose, " And _how_ long have you two been together…?", she paused, "No wonder you were acting so strange yesterday, and why Adrien kept looking over at you," she tapped her smug lips.

"Actually, we've only been together for less than a day. It's been since last night, basically," Adrien cut in.

Alya stared suspiciously. Adrien added, "It's true, right Marinette?" he turned to look at Marinette, who was staring at her feet. She glanced at Adrien, then looked away angrily.

Adrien clasped his hands, "Alya, could I have a moment with Marinette, please?" he bowed slightly. Alya just rolled her eyes, Adrien replied with two thumbs up and mouthed _thank you_.

Walking towards Marinette, he thought deeply before he spoke, "Marinette, seriously, what did I do?" Adrien's eyes pleaded, Marinette gave him a look that had _you should know_ written all over it.

Not knowing what to do, Adrien slipped into "All-I-can-do-is-cheer-her-up-at-this-point" mode, "Bugaboo…" he smirked. Marinette pushed his EXTREMELY DUMB face away. Alya secretly watched closely, she slowly pulled her phone out and began recording.

Adrien pouted his lip, and batted his eyes, "C'mon…"

"Ugh, don't tell me _His Majesty_ has already forgotten?" Marinette shoved her face close enough to feel Adrien's breath, making an effort to not show that Adrien's adorable face was getting to her. She was such a pushover, but also stubborn, no wonder she was such a mess.

Adrien looked sideways, as though Marinette's computer screen was going to give him the answer, "Uhh, what period of time did this happen in?"

Marinette pointed with her hand towards her bed, "This morning, genius,"

Adrien's eyes narrowed, "Oh. You mean when you HIT ME?"

Not the point, "I only hit you because you were being a jerk!"

Adrien shrugged and wore a sarcastic confused expression.

Marinette balled her hand into a fist, "You should know how much attitudes annoy me. You kept ignoring me, saying rude things to me, and looking at me like I was the worst person you've ever laid eyes on!"

Adrien's reflected anger subsided, "Oh… about that-"

"OH," Marinette mocked and tapped her foot.

"I'm _really_ sorry. I'm not much of a morning person. I can say things I don't mean. You don't think I'd really look at you any other way than I am now, right?" Adrien had a romantic way with words, or at least Marinette thought so. Just like that, she was speechless… and had forgotten what she had been mad about. Stubborn, but a pushover.

"Wow," Alya inputted as she slipped her phone into her pocket, "Supposedly you've been together for, what? 12 hours? And you're already arguing?"

"But we aren't arguing anymore. Definitely learned something new, and kinda surprising, about Adrien though," Marinette defended.

Adrien laughed, "Yeah, it might seem a bit out of character. You must've thought I was actually mad at you or something…"

Alya caught on, "Oh, you're not so great in the morning either? Marinette, girl, if Adrien's like me he won't even know or remember what he said to you sometimes. Get used to it. Think of it as PMS, I'll bet you've said a couple of things you don't even know why you said it," she shook her index finger at Marinette.

Marinette nodded in understanding.

Alya rubbed her arm, "So…. uh. Well, Marinette and I were planning to go watch a movie in about half an hour. I'd invite you, but you need a change of clothes… and, good luck sneaking out of here now," Alya gestured towards the white stairs leading to the living room and kitchen.

Marinette and Adrien started stuttering, echoing each other's statements.

"Oh!" they shouted.

Marinette chimed, "Actually, Adrien is _very_ good at sneaking,"

"Yes, _so_ good at sneaking," Adrien acknowledged.

"He'll be just fine," Marinette finished.

"Just fine. In fact, I'll catch up with you guys," Adrien parroted.

"Yeah…" Marinette forced a smile.

"Yeah…" Adrien mimicked.

Alya looked back and forth from Adrien to Marinette, they sure were acting strange, "Ok…" was all she could say.

"So, let's go then… Alya!" Marinette blurted.

Alya followed, confused. Marinette looked back at Adrien as they walked down the stairs, her eyes were big. Adrien nodded, then made a flirty face, "See you there, Princess."

Marinette turned away, blushing. Everything was okay.


	6. Cat's Cradle

Just seconds after Marinette and Alya had rushed down the stairs, Adrien heard footsteps running back up. Adrien ducked underneath Marinette's desk, then noticed it was only Marinette.

Marinette looked embarrassed, "Woops, heh… I was in such a hurry I forgot I was still in my pj's," she walked over to her chest of clothes, "I'm so forgetful…" she murmured.

"You're welcome!" Alya called, she had reminded Marinette as she was being dragged down the stairs.

Tikki whizzed up to Marinette, "You almost forgot _me_ too," she scolded.

Plagg came from behind Tikki, "So are we gonna go, or what?" he nodded towards Adrien.

"Yeah, hang on let me get my stuff," Adrien turned to grab his jeans, neatly folded in a corner, and his sneakers.

"Well, I've got my clothes, I'll go change downstairs after I eat breakfast," Marinette folded her clothes and placed it in her backpack, as to not raise suspicion for not changing in her room. Tikki zipped into Marinette's small purse, and they went downstairs.

Adrien went to close the trapdoor, careful not to slam it. Walking back towards Marinette's bed, he paused.

"What now?" Plagg slouched in mid-air.

Adrien reached upwards, "I noticed something earlier."

He grabbed a dark handle that hung on the ceiling next to Marinette's desk. He pulled on it, a presentation screen followed the handle. As Adrien scanned it, his face flushed.

Plagg cackled. Printed onto the screen was a copy of Adrien's exact schedule. From January to June, every event planned for him was listed.

"Uhhhh, what…" Adrien stuttered. His face twisted in confusion and humiliation.

He wasn't sure how Marinette had gotten ahold of his schedule, but he didn't have time to think about it. He had to hurry to get to the theater, but first he had to go change. He transformed into Chat Noir and sprung through the trapdoor leading to the roof.

Alya and Marinette strolled down the side-walk to the subway. Alya wasn't quite satisfied yet, "So, why were there bandages in your room?"

What was wrong with bandages? What kind of strange fantasies could Alya be building in her head? Marinette searched her brain for excuses, "Um… Adrien got hurt… during fencing practice!"

"How do you get hurt during fencing practice? The swords are dull," Alya knew better than to take a story without prying for more information.

"I-it was a different kind of injury! He didn't tell me how it happened, but he's all better now!" Marinette tugged on her pig tail.

Alya clapped her hands once, " _Really_? So what was this, a celebration for taking off his bandages? Is that what the get together was about?" Alya pretended to be Adrien, " 'In honor of my healing wounds, I hereby remove these bandages, and present to you my sexy model body…'"

Marinette bit her lip, "Well, no… but, it was sexy!"

Alya chuckled, "Girl, girl…"

The two of them mounted the subway train. Alya had to chose a different way of approach. There was silence during the ride, but as soon as they dismounted, the interrogation was back on track. No pun intended.

Alya scratched her chin, "So you're telling me, this was just a sleepover. Like, a normal one? Well don't look at me like that! Since when does a guy want to sleep over, just to sleep over?"

"Come _on_ , think about the kind of guy Adrien is. Do you really think that's where his mind would be?" Marinette was successfully shifting the subject.

Alya smiled shamefully, "Ok, ok, you're right. But why did it happen in the first place? Did he ask, or you? What made you guys start a relationship all of the sudden?" Or not.

"Ok, I'm gonna be a little honest with you, but no more questions after this. Don't tell Adrien, because I'm supposed to keep as much of this a secret as possible," Marinette gave in, "He _did_ ask me, if I'm right, I think he just wanted to escape going to his own house. We only started dating because we found out we actually liked _each other_ and it wasn't one-sided."

Alya's jaw dropped, "You don't actually think I'm going to let you stop there? You have to tell me more! Why is he trying to escape his house?"

"Oh, look! We're here! Oh well… let's go inside!" Marinette tried to distract Alya, but it wasn't working.

"Marinette, in the time it took for you to eat, get dressed, and get here, only 20 minutes have passed. And we have to stay out here because Adrien doesn't know which movie we're seeing. So you have plenty of time to tell me more," Alya stood in front of the theater entrance.

Marinette gnashed her teeth, she whispered to herself, "Hurry up, Kitty…"

Chat struggled outside of his bedroom. His windows were locked, someone had been inside. He certainly couldn't break a window without getting caught. His only choice was to de-transform and find somewhere to change into his jeans, so he could at least walk in with some decency.

He slipped behind the stairs. In the shadows of the wall he de-transformed, switched pants, and put on his sneakers. He hid the sweatpants behind a bush. He didn't have a shirt, but at least he wasn't wearing flower pants. Still, if he was caught, he'd have a lot of explaining to do. What fun.

He used the keys he kept in his jean pocket to open the large brown door. Plagg hid in another pocket. The door opened, the sound echoing loudly through the large rooms.

"Adrien!" Nathalie came running up to greet Adrien.

Surprisingly, Adrien's father was standing nearby. He muttered something into a phone, then hung up. Nathalie seemed very relieved to see Adrien; she even hugged him, and asked him if he was alright, wondering where he had been… and where his shirt was. Adrien's father, Gabriel, had more wrinkles on his face than usual, a vein bulged from his forehead. He expressed less worry than someone who wasn't even biologically related to him.

Gabriel's eyes cut like daggers into Adrien's, "Adrien," his voice was as fierce as a match fallen on a puddle of gasoline, "Come with me," he took Adrien's wrist and twisted it.

"Ow, you're hurting me," Adrien made eye-contact with Gabriel.

"Good," was Gabriel's only response, and he pulled him up the stairs into Adrien's room.

Nathalie stayed behind, clenching the white collar of her blouse.

"Wow, dad, it's nice seeing you in person." Adrien risked sarcasm, rubbing his wrist.

Gabriel's face suddenly changed from angry to violent, a side Adrien had never seen before, "Do you know how much time I lost because of you?! While you were playing around like a complete _idiot_ , I was cancelling important meetings. Only for you to be perfectly fine. Someone's being a bad influence on you, and I'm going to find out who. Was it that delinquent?"

Adrien's lower lip trembled, "Thanks for being worried about me! And are you talking about Nino? He's not a delinquent-"

"Enough. I'll see to it you get the proper discipline for this," Gabriel snatched a lock of Adrien's hair and pushed him to the ground, he turned to walk away, "You're lucky I can't hit you. You have a shoot tomorrow morning," then he left, a click ringing throughout Adrien's room after the door closed.

Adrien quivered and hiccuped, drying his eyes. The first physical contact between the two of them in months, he no longer desired to be touched by his father. Now he was locked in his own room from the outside, both doors.

Plagg hovered to Adrien's limp shoulder, "You okay kid?"

"Fine," Adrien huffed.

He went to change, and placed pillows under his sheets. He was only locked in as Adrien, not as Chat Noir. He wasn't much in the mood to watch a movie, but there was now someone he wanted to see more than ever.

"Plagg, claws out."

"Well… we've only got like a minute before show time, but it's okay! There's still time between all the previews and trailers, don't worry Marinette," Alya had given up on probing, and was more concerned on reassuring Marinette, who was a little more worried than she should have been.

"But he would've been here by now…" Marinette trailed off.

"Hey!" Alya and Marinette turned in the direction of the call, Adrien was sprinting towards them, "Sorry to keep you waiting."

Adrien approached them and noticed the worry in Marinette's eyes, "Miss me?" he winked at his Princess, but she sensed something was off, right through the award-winning smile. Much like the Princess and the Pea.

"Adri-" Marinette started.

"C'mon! The movie's about to start!" Alya cut in, then ran inside.

Marinette waited a bit with Adrien. She wasn't sure what to do, and she was short on words, so she reached out her hand and took his. Her grasp was light like feathers, but sincere, she caressed the back of his hand with her thumb.

"Maybe we can talk later," Marinette whispered, then kissed Adrien's cheek. His face softened.

They walked in together, Adrien didn't regret a thing.


	7. Clawed in a Bad Romance

By the time the movie had finished, Adrien hadn't looked at the screen once, and Marinette couldn't concentrate on it. Marinette was filled to the brim with worry, and Adrien was lying on Marinette's shoulder; watching his hand rest in hers. At one point, Marinette felt Adrien's grip tighten, so she lifted her other hand and stroked his head. His hair was thick and soft, so she ended up running her hand through his hair longer than intended, then slid her hand down and rest at his cheek. And they stayed like that until the lights came back on.

Alya sensed it was time she made something up and left, "Um, I gotta go… see if Ladybug is up and about for my blog," she ran down the street waving before Marinette could say anything.

Marinette turned to Adrien, "Actually, we can go on patrol now. We have time to kill."

"Sure," Adrien nodded, a rosy cloth pattern plastered on his cheek.

Marinette pinched his cheek, "If you're not too tired."

Adrien felt the dimples and ridges on his face, "Oh, heh… you were comfy."

Ladybug and Chat Noir jumped rooftop to rooftop. Nothing more than an ordinary purse snatch, which was taken care of.

"Chat!" Ladybug waved her kitty over. He followed her to the roof balcony above her room. Ladybug sat down and pat the ground, "Come here, Adrien."

"Am I in trouble, My Lady? What is my punishment?" Chat grinned, but his eyes frowned.

"That's the question, _are_ you?" Ladybug poked his chest.

Chat slouched, "Oh… I already told you that I always get in trouble-"

"I don't care what you told me, this time is different. I know it," Ladybug's eyes narrowed, "Tell me the truth."

Chat told Ladybug every detail of what happened upon his return home. It wasn't easy, why does it seem he always has to confess things on this roof? Ladybug's eyes froze. She placed her hands on Chat's shoulders, then shook him vigorously, "Chat! You were gonna keep this from me?!"

Then she stopped and hugged him, "Adrien…"

Chat touched Ladybug's arm, "It's ok… I'm fine, see?"

Ladybug shook her head, "No, I don't see. And you'd better go home at a good time tonight!"

"I will. I promise. But, man it sucks to go home early on a Saturday," Chat wrapped his arms around his knees.

"Yeah, you're right. I guess Saturday nights are the best time for teenagers to let loose and spend time time together," Ladybug sympathised.

Chat's face lit up. He stood up suddenly and danced enthusiastically, "Saturday night and we in the spot," he poked a spot on Ladybug's chest, "Don't believe me just watch!" Chat spun around and began playing an air trumpet. Ladybug stared longingly.

Chat looked at her and reached out his hand. Ladybug giggled and shook her head, but it was too late. Chat grabbed her hand and pulled her into his dance. After a couple attempts of convincing, and lots of begging, Ladybug gave in and played along.

There they were. A red figure and a black figure chasing each other, jumping, twirling, and laughing. Dancing to imaginary music, in broad day-light.

"Ok, I'm tired," Ladybug said between pants.

Chat nodded in agreement. They fell onto the ground, tired, but smiling.

"So… why don't you explain your morning attitude a little more. You slept plenty, it was 10 AM," Ladybug smirked.

"That's not an easy question. You're basically asking what makes me tick," Chat pointed out.

Ladybug perked her lips, as if to be thinking deeply, "Hmm, I guess I'll have to find out what makes you tick then…" she rubbed her chin and squinted, jokingly.

Chat laughed as Ladybug peeked in his ear, looked at the length of his arm, and listened to his heartbeat; steady and calm. Ladybug lifted her finger, "I found the source of the ticking!"

Chat answered in a squeaky voice, "It's a pipe bomb!"

"Yaaay!" Ladybug squealed.

The two of them made an explosion noise with their mouths, and laughed.

"Ok, seriously though. Don't you look forward to seizing the day?" Ladybug leaned towards Chat, a sparkle in her eye.

Chat leaned closer, "I look forward to seizing _you_."

Ladybug's face disappeared into her mask, she coughed, "What about Nino… and having another day to do something fun!"

"Yeah, I guess Nino too. But, I don't have much time for fun," Chat leaned back again.

"Oh… so you don't look forward to the day?" Ladybug's voice quietted.

Chat shrugged, "I'd rather sleep, I guess. Everything I do is planned for me… you would know," he smiled slyly.

"What?!" Ladybug's eyes darted back and forth.

"Oh, do I need to remind you?" Chat got up to go into Ladybug's room, but Ladybug grabbed his tail, "No, no… you don't need to remind me."

Chat smiled, "Don't be embarrassed. I don't care… much. Hey, as long as you weren't plotting to kidnap me or something. Actually would you, please?"

Ladybug raised an eyebrow, "I don't think it would be good if Ladybug kidnapped a famous teen model. Or anyone for that matter."

"Yeah, yeah... " Chat sighed heavily.

"Maybe you're just stressed. If you find a way to relax, the days won't be so bad, and you'll be waking up as bright as the sunshine!" Ladybug was way too optimistic.

"Ok, Doc. But how?" Chat raised both eyebrows.

Ladybug thought for a moment, "I could give you a massage!"

Chat was hesitant, "Oh, you don't have to-"

"Yes! I will. I have some cream, I'll be right back," Ladybug beamed, then jumped through the trapdoor; a pink flash following her.

Marinette emerged back from the opening with a bottle of lotion; sure one excuse was that lotion and gloves weren't a good mix, but the other was that she wasn't going to pass the opportunity to massage Adrien with her bare hands.

Marinette scooted up behind Chat and reached around to grab his bell, "Now I know what your zipper is for."

Chat looked guilty, "I had another reason in mind…"

Marinette smacked the back of his head, "Chat!"

"Kidding!" Chat laughed.

Marinette folded Chat's collar over, and uncovered his shoulders, "By the way, what's with all the scents?"

"Huh?" Chat peered back at Marinette.

"You smell like Bath and Body works. I smell orange and vanilla cologne… lemon shampoo, and, is that coconut lotion?" Marinette had a good nose, especially for food.

"Yeah, you could say I like those types of things… also, I desperately need to cover the smell of camembert Plagg leaves," Chat looked slightly agitated when he mentioned camembert. Tikki giggled from inside Marinette's room.

"Well, I like it. I hope you like lavender," Marinette took a squirt of lotion and rubbed it between her hands.

"Go ahead, might as well," Chat sounded calm, but he was deeply embarrassed.

Marinette pressed her fingers into Chat's shoulders, making circular motions with her thumbs in between his shoulder blades, "You _are_ stiff."

Chat slipped out of the arms of the shirt and lied down, "This won't work, but who's stopping you," he purred.

"It's true though, this is only temporary relief," Marinette traced two lines up the sides of Chat's spine.

Chat closed his eyes, "I guess you have no choice but to do this _every single day_."

Marinette spoke under her breath, "Don't have to ask me twice."

From the corner of his eye, Chat saw Marinette kneeling besides him, "You don't have to be so awkward, it'd be much more comfortable for you if you sat here," he pointed to his tail.

Marinette growled, "I'll show you comfortable!" She gave Chat's ass the best wack she could.

Chat recoiled in full regret, but still managed, "Hot damn."

Marinette got angrier and yanked Chat's tail, "CHAT NOIR. DO NOT MAKE ME. BEAT YOU. WITH YOUR OWN TAIL. YOUR TAIL IS A BELT, IN CASE YOU FORGOT."

Chat's laugh resembled a cough, "Do it."

Marinette blew out her anger in one calm breath, "You do realise, I can just take your staff and throw you off this roof."

Chat frowned in fear, "Yes ma'am. Sorry."

"Good," Marinette looked down at Chat Noir's back, "I don't even know why I'm doing this for you."

Chat looked back with sparkly eyes, "Because you love me."

Marinette laughed softly, "Fine…" and continued to rub his back.

"But the offer is still up," Chat didn't know when to quit.

"Chat stop." Marinette ordered.

"Don't lie. I see you staring at my ass." Chat smirked.

"Ok, that's it." Marinette got up to leave.

"No, wait," Chat flipped over and lifted his arms, making grabbing motions with his fingers, "Snuggle…"

Marinette lied down next to Chat, and he kissed her forehead, wrapping his arm around her. She went for the full-fledged kiss. Chat returned the kiss.

"I'm surprised," he admitted, "You seem _purr_ fectly fine kissing me as Chat Noir, but as Adrien you seemed a little over-whelmed. Maybe it's just me…"

Marinette took the opportunity, learning to ignore puns, "Oh, funny story… I've already kissed you. A while ago."

Chat blinked a couple times, come again? He stared and waited for her to laugh, saying she was joking, but she didn't. He needed to hear that again, "What?!"


	8. Love is Blind

"Okay, okay," Marinette tapped Chat Noir's shoulder with each 'okay', "Remember Valentine's Day?"

Chat nodded, "Yes, that's the day I was going to tell you that I loved you."

Marinette blushed, "Yeah… well, you were taken under the control of Dark Cupid."

"Aw man, _again_? How many times am I gonna be 'controlled'?" Chat put his forehead against Marinette's in defeat.

"What are you talking about? It happened because you were protecting me… again," Marinette put her hand on Chat's cheek and gave him a peck on the mouth.

"I didn't hurt you, did I?" Chat murmured.

Marinette laughed, all to heartily for Chat's feelings, "I'll admit, it was a pretty good match. But consider yourself lucky that it wasn't me who was under control. You would have been done for."

Chat smiled, "Are you sure about that?" he stroked Marinette's waist, "You asking for a rematch?"

"I'm certain, and no," Marinette giggled, "but I didn't win fighting you."

"I know, I get it. You saved me with a kiss," Chat squinted, "And it's so like you to wait until now to tell me."

Marinette pretended to be ashamed, "Sorry, but I didn't need you rubbing it in my face."

Chat sighed, "So this is why you said you might give me a chance."

Marinette looked confused.

"That's right. I overheard you talking to yourself," Chat winked.

Marinette look flustered, "Oh. You know it's ridiculous we didn't figure each other out a while ago."

Chat raised his eyebrows, "Yeah, I mean, I could smell the bakery off of Ladybug."

Marinette added, "I knew you and Adrien were both allergic to feathers."

"Your hairstyle doesn't even change," Chat slapped his forehead.

"You both told horrible puns," Marinette rolled her eyes.

Chat looked Marinette in the eye, "You share the same smile."

Chat Noir and Marinette continued talking about all the hints they'd ignored, and some of their favorite moments together. This moment was definitely going in the "favorite moments" file. It was a warm and soft moment, they forgot about time. In the end they were laughing hysterically.

"What's the phrase again? _Love is Blind_?" Marinette wiped a joyful tear from her eye.

Chat's ring beeped, "Huh… it lasts pretty long if I don't use Cataclysm."

Chat sat up. Marinette pouted, "Aw… don't go."

"I have to anyway… I should get back in time for dinner so I don't get caught, the sun is already setting," Chat stretched. He felt great, like brand new. A massage can go a long way, "Wow, Marinette, I've never felt this good. I guess you're... pretty good with your hands," Chat stuck out his tongue. Marinette through the bottle of lotion at him. She missed…. on purpose of course.

Marinette stood up as Chat did, "You know what! You _should_ leave."

"Alright, alright," Chat laughed happily. This was the beginning of something he needed for a long time. He turned to jump off the roof.

Marinette remembered his father, "Maybe… I should go with you."

Chat shook his head, though touched, "No. Remember, no one knows I've left my room. Besides, it's best that my dad doesn't know about you. For now, anyway."

"Oh, right, ok," Marinette tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Chat paused, then walked over to Marinette for a goodbye kiss, "I love you."

Marinette nodded, "I know, I love you too."

Chat lifted her chin, "No. I love you _so_ much."

Marinette lost her voice and turned bright red. Chat lifted his index and middle finger and saluted Marinette, then jumped off. Marinette watched until he was out of sight.

Marinette was getting ready to go inside, when she started feeling… bad, "Tikki," she called into her room, "Maybe Mr. Agreste won't let Marinette into his home. But I know who will. Maybe I should pay him a visit," she rubbed her earring. Tikki smiled, giving the OK. What has Marinette come to? She can't even leave him for a couple hours until tomorrow.


	9. Fairy Tail

Adrien stared down at his plate. The gloomy, blue dining-room was silent. For the first time in a while, Gabriel sat at the table with him, to his left. Nathalie was across from them.

Gabriel set his fork down impatiently, "Why aren't you eating, Adrien?"

Adrien rested his head on the palms of his hands, "I'm not hungry."

"And why is that?" Gabriel raised an eyebrow, "You haven't eaten all day."

This was true. Though Adrien had been at both a movie theater and a bakery, he hadn't eaten once, nor thought of it.

Adrien pushed the plate away, "Maybe I lost my appetite when you _locked_ me in my own room!"

Gabriel's fingers scraped the table, "Watch your tone. Look, you need to be kept out of trouble, and if it takes that sort of measure, then so be it."

"How did you even lock me in? It's a bedroom door," Adrien clenched his fist.

"Nathalie came to check on you because you were supposedly sick," Gabriel gestured towards Nathalie, "When you didn't answer, she got worried and hired a locksmith. She called me when she didn't see you inside and wouldn't answer your phone. Thinking ahead, I figured I might as well switch the doorknobs while the locksmith was there and had already removed them."

Adrien rolled his eyes, "That sounds like something a villain would do, not a father. I get it, I messed up. But I'm here, and I'm fine. Why can't you just accept me as a normal teenager, and let me have fun?"

Gabriel flinched, "What if something were to happen to you? Then what?"

Adrien raised his palms, "I don't know! You're acting as though I'm in constant danger. You're extremely over-sensitive to my safety."

Gabriel raised his voice, "I'M NOT GOING TO LOSE YOU TOO."

Adrien paused, then stood up abruptly, " _That's_ your excuse? You aren't protecting me, you're ruining my life!"

"Adrien!" Nathalie warned.

Gabriel towered above Adrien. He grasped Adrien's chin tightly. His index and thumb squeezing into either side of his face; forcing Adrien's round, youthful cheeks to push outward. Gabriel pulled him closer, "You don't have any idea what happened to your mother!"

Adrien spoke unclearly through his squished face, "You never told me. And what does knowing have to do with me?"

Gabriel fell silent and let go of Adrien. He sat down and adjusted his ascot, "Where did you get that ring?"

Adrien glared at Gabriel, "Again with the ring? I told you, a friend gave it to me. Why? Unless that was some sorry excuse to getting to know me a little better! If you want to get closer to me, why don't you ask more personal questions?"

"It's this type of attitude that is getting you punished in the first place. Which friend gave you the ring? I'll bet they're the ones being a bad influence on you. Let me see the ring," Gabriel reached out his hand.

Adrien stepped back, "Punished? You mean imprisoning me in my room?"

Gabriel pulled his hand back, "Hardly."

"Then _what?_ " Adrien let his hands fall dramatically.

Gabriel cleared his throat, "You will tell me who this… parasite of a friend is, and break them off; or you will go back to homeschooling."

Adrien swiped his hand in front of him, "No way. I'm keeping my friends, and my school."

Gabriel became more firm, "Who is it?"

Adrien didn't have to tell the truth, he thought for a moment, "Chloe."

"Don't be ridiculous. Tell me the truth," Gabriel picked at his plate with his fork.

"You'd be surprised as I was. Chloe is actually the worst influence anyone could ever be. She got me in trouble with another student on the first day," Adrien put his hands on his hips, proud of his lie, and happy to use it on Chloe. Well… sort of. That is, better her than Marinette.

Gabriel shook his head, "Chloe's been a friend of yours for years. And she was close to your mother. Now tell me the truth, or things will get worse."

Adrien frowned, and muttered, "bite me."

Gabriel's eyes narrowed, "Mind repeating that a little louder?"

Adrien hung his head.

Gabriel sighed, "Nevermind then. Since you aren't hungry, why don't you go to your room."

Adrien left without another word.

"Sir, please don't be so harsh. He's just a child," Nathalie coaxed.

Gabriel barely glanced, "He's 17. Legally a man here in France. I expect him to act like one. He was well behaved before he made "friends", I won't let them sway him any longer."

"I-I don't think it's his friends that are affecting his behavior," Nathalie's voice quieted, "I think, it might be you."

Gabriel stared at Nathalie, "I'm not paying you to tell me what you _think_. Respect me if you want to keep your job."

Nathalie shrunk, "Y-yes sir. My apologies."

Adrien flung himself onto his bed; fuming, bored, and as of now… hungry.

Plagg flew above his face, Adrien's eyes were focused on the basketball he was launching upwards and catching.

"Wow, that was quite the show," Plagg laughed.

"Shut up," Adrien sighed. His stomach growled loudly.

"Want some camembert?" Plagg offered.

Adrien made a face, "I'll pass."

Adrien heard a tap on the glass of the window in front of him.

A muffled, sweet voice, shouted, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair. That I may climb the golden stair."

Two black pig-tails hung from the top of the window, Adrien's face lit up.

He ran to the window and opened it quickly, "I dunno, you seem high enough to me."

"Hey, Cupcake," Ladybug winked.

Adrien blushed, "Why Cupcake?"

Ladybug lowered herself into Adrien's room, "Because it's cuter than Cookie. Unless you'd prefer Cookie Monster? No! My Little Croissant."

Adrien's blush intensified, but his face looked annoyed, "Oh, I see. You're never gonna let that go, are you?"

Ladybug laughed, "Nope. By the way, I brought you a cupcake."

Adrien breathed a tiny gasp.

Ladybug lifted a brown paper bag from the shoulder bag she had, and pulled out a vanilla cupcake. It had black icing, drawn in the shape of a cat's face, with bright-green eyes. Adrien took it like it was a child.

Adrien smiled, "This is my second time in a row having dessert for dinner."

Ladybug put her hand on her forehead, "I figured you'd be too stubborn to eat, here." She pulled out a sandwich from the bag and handed it to him, "It has lettuce, tomatoes, turkey, cheese…"

"Did someone say cheese?" Plagg raced up to Ladybug.

Adrien slouched, "Here, take it." He pulled out the cheese and flung it to Plagg, who caught it with his mouth.

Adrien turned to Ladybug to speak, but Ladybug put her finger to her lips, "No talking. Eat." Adrien turned back obediently, went to sit down on his bed, and ate.

Ladybug sat next to him and pet his head, "When you're done, is there anything you want to talk about?"


	10. What Love Is

It was very important to Ladybug to protect Adrien. She knew Adrien was in a state where he wanted to go home even less than usual. She didn't want him to be alone, so she made it her priority to spend time with him whenever she could. His dad was unusual, so different from her expectations. Apparently his behavior had caught Adrien off guard as well. There was something more to Gabriel than just being a concerned parent. Ladybug was determined to love, defend, and most importantly, keep Adrien from being akumanized. Watching Adrien devour the sandwich, it was evident he needed her.

"Oh, I hate it when that happens," Ladybug broke the silence, noticing that Adrien had come to the last bite where all the fillings were gone.

Adrien tossed the bread in his mouth, "What, are you kidding? This is the best part! Baguettes are the best, you've never had them plain?"

Ladybug smiled, "Of course I have, but, roasted turkey is pretty good too."

"Yeah, I guess," Adrien turned to the cupcake, "but you can't beat sweet."

Ladybug saw that Adrien's mood, from watching him outside, had done a complete 180. She decided it was best not to ask about tonight's events, she could already guess anyhow.

"So, your shoot is tomorrow at 10, right? Is it at the park?" Ladybug rested her hands on her knees.

Adrien laughed and got icing on his teeth, "Why are you _asking_?"

Ladybug waved her hand, "Alright, alright." She squeezed Adrien's shoulders.

Adrien licked the last bit of icing off his thumb, then looked at Ladybug's hand on his shoulder, "Oooh, more?"

Ladybug poked Adrien's cheek, "No, silly," and wrapped her arms around his neck from behind.

"Did you fall in love with me… Chat Noir, when you kissed him on Valentine's Day?" Adrien hugged her arms.

Ladybug snorted, "I was already in love with yo- I MEAN, I WAS JUST DOING WHAT I HAD TO."

Adrien's laugh was bubbly and incredibly satisfying to Ladybug's ears, "I'm sorry you were forced into something like that."

Ladybug lifted her right hand to play with Adrien's hair, "In all honesty, I don't regret it. If anything, I'm glad it happened. Regardless of how long I'd been in love with Chat Noir, I didn't really realize it until then."

"So you did fall for me! And then you threw me…" Adrien pressed his face against Ladybug's.

"You really didn't notice? I thought I was being obvious, I kept staring at your lips…" Ladybug turned red at her honesty.

Adrien shrugged, shaking Ladybug, "I suppose you were acting strange, but I definitely didn't notice the lips staring?"

What the heck, she'd already been straightforward enough, "I like your lips."

Adrien's face warmed, matching the color of Ladybug's, the heat from their face circulated into a gentle burn.

"You do? What about them?" Adrien looked sideways, away from Ladybug.

Ladybug grabbed his chin, a lot more kindly than _some_ people, and turned his face to hers. Her lips grasped his in a crippling embrace. She held and let go, held and let go, held and twisted. Adrien fell backwards, Ladybug followed like a magnet. She kissed the corner of his mouth. She kissed his cheek, his jaw-

"Wait," Adrien pushed Ladybug's shoulders, "Are you OK?"

Ladybug realized, "O-oh! I'm sorry, I'm being-"

"No, you aren't bothering me, you just aren't normally this…" Adrien searched for the right word.

"I'm just getting more comfortable around you, that's all," Ladybug scratched her face.

Adrien raised an eyebrow, "Oh, really? Then, what will you let _me_ do to you?"

Ladybug's voice shook, "W-what?" Her breaths quickened.

"I thought so, just forcing yourself to be someone you're not," Adrien crossed his arms.

"Was I that obvious? What gave me away?" Ladybug looked at the floor.

Adrien smirked, "You kiss by the book."

Ladybug grunted and stuck out her tongue, "Your father craves a word with you…"

They jumped when there was a knock at the door.

"Adrien… I'm locking the door, I'm sorry," Nathalie spoke softly, then walked away.

Ladybug was relieved, but looked defeated.

"Are you worried about me?" Adrien tilted his head.

Ladybug nodded carefully.

"You can break a spell with one, but you can't fix everything with a kiss," Adrien smirked.

Ladybug waved her hands in front of her defensively, "No! I wasn't trying to fix anything. I just wanted to be closer to you."

Adrien sighed, "We _are_ close, close enough to know when something's off. I know what's hiding under that mask, Mari; it's not just a secret identity, it's another side to you, and I _love_ that I know about it, and can't wait to know more about you. I know you're bold and confident when you wear that costume, but I also know you're shy and sweet. And I know Marinette is not the type to be comfortable sitting on me…"

Ladybug looked down, she was sitting on his upper-thigh, her hands in front of her wrinkling his shirt. She jumped and fell onto the mattress, hugging her knees, whispering _I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry._

Adrien sat up, "We can learn more about each other, and become closer still. We don't have to depend on Hollywood romance for that. Take it easy, and don't make yourself uncomfortable for my sake."

Ladybug smiled shyly, "Yeah, you're right."

Adrien made a very Chat Noir face, "But if you want to make-out with me…" he puckered his lips.

Ladybug pushed his face back and rolled her eyes, "Never _mind_."

Adrien let out a muffled grunt.

Ladybug gasped and retreated her hand, "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

Adrien laughed into his hand, then looked up gently, "You're amazing."


	11. Catalyst

Ladybug didn't leave until Adrien had fallen asleep. Her voice and presence were something of a lullaby to Adrien; a calming safety and obstruction of loneliness. As the night went on, Adrien tucked himself under the covers and slipped out of his jeans; which fell from underneath the covers. Ladybug watched over him a couple moments, then stood up.

She walked up to the head of the bed, and hunched over slumbering Adrien, " How can you sleep face down?" she whispered, "It looks so uncomfortable. Still…" she wiped his bangs from his face and kissed his forehead, "You're awfully cute."

Ladybug waited at the edge of the window. She was so amazed and overjoyed that they were this close. Maybe it was because of her closeness to Chat Noir before she knew he was Adrien. Maybe it was because of all the things they'd already been through in such a short period of time. Or maybe it was because she no longer felt she needed to impress him, because he'd been dazzled by her the entire time. Either way, they were together… they were _boyfriend_ and _girlfriend_! They were brand new, yet they always have been.

There was a knock on the door, at 12AM, Gabriel's voice came from behind the door, "Adrien? Are you asleep?" There was no answer, the door knob clicked and the door opened slowly. Ladybug jumped out of the window, and while hanging from her yo-yo, tried to quickly and quietly close the window from outside. It was left ajar, but that was the best she could do, so she left.

That night, Marinette couldn't help but to fall asleep smiling.

The smell of breakfast pulled Marinette out of bed again. She felt the need to wear something new today, even if it meant giving up her favorite outfit, she was suddenly tired of it. Though she didn't know if it was because of Adrien, wearing the green t-shirt that brought out his eyes, or because of the great mood she was in. She put on a casual dress she'd made. It had a flowing, green, translucent high-low skirt, with blue flowers sprinkled all over it. The top was bright white, square low-neck, finished with a golden belt. A thin necklace slipped underneath her top, tucked between her breasts. Her hair was in a ponytail, and she wore green Vans sneakers. She was ready to go.

"Well don't you look nice," Marinette's mom, Sabine, smiled. She placed a plate of nutella and raspberry crepes in front of Marinette, "Are you meeting with someone?"

Marinette's father looked up from his newspaper, "Are you meeting with _Adrien_?"

Marinette suffered silently. Sabine gasped, "Oh! Could it be? Finally! I'm so glad, I'm sure he'll love your new look…"

"Mom!" Marinette stuffed her mouth as her parents flooded her with questions, "Ok, enough, enough! Let me finish my breakfast in peace." She looked at the last crepe; a dark ring of nutella enveloped a fresh raspberry within the thin pancake, "Actually… can I take this to-go?"

Two women were surrounding Adrien when Marinette arrived: one was applying powder to his face, the other was messing with the zipper of his hoodie, looking back occasionally for opinion on where to leave it. It was a light gray, sleeveless hoodie, with large pockets in the front. He wore matching, baggy-tight capris, made of cotton… and they fit him just right. Not that Marinette was closely observing or taking mental notes… or sneaking pictures on her phone- but that wasn't the point. Adrien opened an eye, his white high-tops rotating on the heel in Marinette's direction as he noticed her. He raised a hand, and the women parted like the red sea.

Adrien strode towards Marinette, "There you are, Princess," his eyes shifted, "Wow, you look really cute."

Marinette stiffened, "Oh, r-really?"

"Adorable," Adrien assured, but her smile was beautiful, he thought, "Mari… you don't have to be so nervous around me, remember? I'm your boyfriend."

"Y-yeah, that's why… I feel kinda giddy today, and I wore this," Marinette rubbed her arm.

Adrien laughed, "What? Like, did it just hit you this morning?"

Marinette's lips wrinkled, "Kind of- it's just that yesterday felt so strange. It started off crazy, and then last night it hit me like a truck. You can't blame me, though… it's only been two nights since we started dating."

"Point taken. I'll admit it's been weird getting used to the idea. Believe it or not you're my first girlfriend. Though, as Ladybug and Chat Noir we kind of act like a couple that's been dating for months. It almost feels like we really don't need to feel that different, or change. You don't need to change your outfit just because we have a title now. Oh, _not_ that nothing's changed… what I'm trying to say is... I'm the same person, _we're_ the same people, whether or not we are dating, and whether or not we're wearing a mask. We're just more comfortable doing certain things _when_ we're wearing the masks. The only thing that changed when we started dating, is how we look at each other," Adrien waved off the cameraman, who was waving Adrien over furiously.

Adrien took Marinette's hand, then turned to the crew and winked mischievously, "Take five!"

The crew exchanged shocked _what?!_ s as the producer, who had worked with Gabriel for years, threw his hands into the sky and rested them on his head. Adrien ran off with Marinette, the producer mumbled, "He's turning into Adalene…"

Adrien guided Marinette across to some trees, "I just wanted to get away from them, they were being annoying…"

"Well… speaking of new looks, are you gonna wear that to school tomorrow?" Marinette focused on his biceps.

Adrien shook his head, "No way, am I even allowed? Don't look at me like that! I know I said that I wasn't going to let myself feel obliged to behave a certain way at school, but I'm not just going to dive in head first, I'll ease into it. I won't just walk into school completely different. Besides…" Adrien raised an eyebrow, "I feel as though this hoodie would be distracting, since you eye-contact is inconsistent." Marinette scratched her cheek shamefully.

Adrien yawned. Marinette stared, "So, how did you sleep last night?" She leaned forward, arms crossed, "You slept long enough, right?"

"Oh give it a _rest._ I'm not the only one in the world who doesn't wake up bright as the sunshine. But actually, I slept great! I even slept in late, I ended up being rushed around by Nathalie this morning because I was so late. I didn't even have time to look in the mirror, she just threw clothes at me and dragged me out of the house. Then these people crowded around me and started poking things in my face and freaking out. No one wants to mess with my dad's plans, which he packs a lot in a week. He's a busy man. Nathalie had my schedule set up perfectly, and I'm ruining it just by talking to you, but…" He rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

Marinette lifted a finger, "First, oversleeping is just as bad as too little sleep. Second, what you're saying is…" She touched the back of her hand to his nose, "I thought so. The reason you're tired isn't only because you overslept, but also because you're hungry."

Adrien tapped his nose, confused, "What does that have to do with my nose?"

"When your nose is cold it means you're hungry," Marinette tapped her arm impatiently.

"Does this have to do with those anatomy and medical classes you take over summer vacation?" Adrien leaned on the tree behind him.

"No, my parents taught it to me," Marinette kept a steady gaze on Adrien, clearly he wasn't getting what was important to her during this discussion, as he kept letting the subject wander.

"Well, if you don't go into fashion, you should be a doctor. You'd make a good one, fashion and medicine both require precision and detail," Adrien put his hands in his pocket.

"Nah, that's way too stressful. You're the only patient I have _patience_ for," Marinette winked. Adrien made a cute face, Marinette saw nothing more in his expression than _cute_. Marinette focused again, "Anyway, you skipped breakfast, didn't you?"

Adrien nodded. Marinette sighed like a protective mother, "Of course. Here." Marinette reached into her purse, pulled out a cardboard box, and handed it to Adrien. Adrien took it, the bottom was still warm. He opened the box; there was a crepe and a croissant just in case, because Marinette thought the last crepe wouldn't have been enough. A plastic fork waited patiently in the corner.

"Oh my God," Adrien blushed.

Adrien immediately snatched the fork up and used its side to slice into the crepe. He watched the nutella gush out, and the juices of the raspberries spill. Marinette smiled while he ate, his eyes always sparkled when Marinette gave him something to eat.

Adrien held the fork in his mouth for a moment after swallowing the last bite, and shut his eyes. He hummed, "Have I told you how much I love you?"

Marinette walked closer to Adrien, "I even think you say it too often." She kissed his cheek, resting her folded hands on his shoulder.

In that moment, Marinette became comfortable again. She saw his joyful face and she forgot about what was going on, why she was there, how she looked… and remembered how much she enjoyed being with _him_ , who was in front of her, and that was all that mattered.

"Well, in that case I'll say it more," Adrien smirked.

"What?" Marinette leaned back.

Adrien tossed the empty cardboard box in a nearby trashcan and turned to look at Marinette square in the eye, "I love you."

Marinette's eyes narrowed, "Is that a declaration of war? Oh yeah? Well, I love _you_."

Adrien crossed his arms and stuck out his tongue. Marinette did the same. They made mocking noises at each other, as though to attempt outdoing the others insulting tongue.

Suddenly they were going back and forth with enthusiastic _I love you_ s. The next, always even more emphasized than the last. Then they picked up speed and started shouting it together. Mine will definitely be heard the loudest, they thought. And so they wasted precious time loving each other, but then how could they spend the time any better than that?


	12. Game Face

Adrien laughed, "You're awfully determined to prove you love me more than I love you. Even though you've proven it many times over… you've done so much more for me than I have for you," Adrien scraped at the cuticle of his index finger with his thumb.

"What are you talking about? You've done plenty for me, I'm in your debt," Marinette twirled a loose strand of hair around her finger.

"Since when?" Adrien lowered his head.

"Well for one, I can always count on Chat Noir. From the very beginning, he was the push I needed to stay being Ladybug. He's always surprising me with his comforting and thoughtful words. He's really brave, so unfortunately that means he takes the hit almost every time, and he's constantly saving my butt. Also, he's never lost his patience with me, no matter how many times I get all whiny and stubborn, and he's always kind, even if I'm a little mean to him. And then there's Mr. Adrien Agreste, to whom I gave the _worst_ first impression by not even considering what he had to say and immediately judging him. Even then, he tried his hardest to be a gentleman, and wouldn't rest until I was smiling at him. He's always looking out for me and giving me advice when I need it the most. Lastly, he's the sunshine that gave me the hope and motivation for nearly everything that I've done," Marinette finished, looking back up at Adrien, who was covering his face with his hand.

Marinette leaned in to try and look at Adrien from underneath his hand, "If you ask me, this _purr_ fect man sounds like quite the _cat_ ch."

 _Dammit, dammit, dammit_. It was all Adrien's fault for asking that stupid question! He needed a subject changer, now! He noticed a golden chain hanging from Marinette's neck.

Adrien removed his hand from his face, though his face was still slightly red, "Hey, what's that?"

Marinette looked down where Adrien was pointing, "Oh, I thought it was cute and decided to make it my new lucky-charm necklace."

Adrien became curious, as the pendant was hidden behind her top. He reached over and pulled the necklace out. Marinette knees went weak when Adrien's knuckle brushed against her chest while fishing out the pendant.

Adrien went suddenly smug, "Care to explain why your lucky charm is a black cat, which symbolically means _bad_ luck?"

Marinette tugged on the top of her dress, "Well, because _you're_ my lucky charm."

Oh God. Why does Adrien keep doing this to himself? What would Chat Noir do? Adrien waited a moment and stared at Marinette.

He then jerked on the necklace, pulling Marinette closer. He smirked, "Goddammit, Marinette," and he kissed her passionately.

"Adrien!" Nathalie called from afar, "That's enough fooling around and wasting time, just what do you think you're doing behind there!?"

Adrien groaned, then peaked over from behind the tree, "Oh, nothing… just getting something out of her eye!" Marinette gasped, then giggled.

Nathalie tapped her foot, "Get over here, Adrien."

Adrien frowned, and shuffled over to Nathalie, Marinette sat shyly on the bench closest to her.

"Don't drag your feet like that, you'll get the shoes dirty!" The producer, Mr. Doisneau, threw his hands down at Adrien's shoes. Mr. Doisneau approached Adrien, "What are you doing, Adrien? This isn't like you…"

Adrien crossed his arms, "Maybe it is, and you just didn't know it."

"What's going on, Adrien?" Mr. Doisneau put his hands on his hips.

Adrien glanced sideways, "Look, I'm sick of my dad not letting me do anything! And he's only getting worse! He's been locking me in my room-"

"You mean after you didn't show up for a whole night?" Mr. Doisneau raised an eyebrow.

"But-" Adrien clenched his fists.

"Adrien, you have no idea how spoiled you are. Look at you, you're turning into a complete brat, and your father's hardly doing anything about it. If _I_ was your father, I'd… I'd!.." Mr. Doisneau slapped the palm of his hand with the back of his other hand repeatedly.

Adrien felt more insulted than intimidated, "Go ahead then… do it! See if I care!"

Mr. Doisneau leaned back, "Don't tempt me, kid."

"Wait! Don't blame _him_ , it's all my fault!" Marinette came running. Adrien wanted to protest.

"I completely agree with you," Mr. Doisneau snarled.

"And that's exactly why I think your father needs to know about this. After this shoot, you're coming with us to meet with Mr. Agreste, young lady," Nathalie put her hand on Marinette's shoulder.

"What? No! Nathalie-" Adrien went hot with anger.

"It's ok, I'll go," Marinette looked down.

Adrien took a step forward, "No, Marinette! You don't understand-"

One of the crew members, who was carrying a reflector, spoke up, "You're being selfish, Adrien. We're nearly an hour behind, and your father is expecting you back home at a set time. You're jeopardizing our jobs."

Nathalie looked down shamefully , "Not that that's-"

"Save it, Nathalie," Adrien winced.

"I'm telling the truth when I say I care about you," Nathalie panicked, whether or not she wanted to give Adrien what he wanted, and whether or not she was mostly concerned about her job… helping Adrien and thus losing her job wouldn't help anything. Gabriel would only replace her with someone else, who probably wouldn't have a drop of sympathy for Adrien. Things would only be worse for him.

"Yeah, sure. Let's just get this over with," Adrien went to go stand in front of the camera man, one of the wardrobe stylists sheepishly handed him a pair of nonprescription glasses.

Marinette watched, a little less excited than she would have been, as Adrien posed for picture after picture. It looked exhausting. Adrien would steal sharp glances whenever he saw Mr. Doisneau lean over Marinette, and watched her face drop.

Adrien rolled his eyes as he walked away from the crew, "Let's get out of here, Marinette, before they force us _both_ into the car."

Marinette ran up to grab Adrien's hand, "Why are they in such a rush to get you home? Isn't the rest of your day free?"

"I'm only allowed out for things on my schedule, remember?" Adrien took of his glasses.

"Oh, right… duh, sorry. Wait, I like the glasses," Marinette snatched the glasses and put them back on Adrien's face.

Adrien blinked, "Really? Do I look cute?" he winked.

Marinette laughed softly through her nose, "Adorable," and winked back. Adrien blushed, for about the millionth time that day.

"Adrien! Where are you going? Get in the car!" Nathalie waved her arm, a hint of worry in her voice.

"Woops, time to run!" Adrien pulled Marinette with him, and they didn't stop till they thought they were safe, in the midst of a partially crowded subway.

Adrien and Marinette sat down at a bench. Marinette intertwined her fingers in Adrien's, "So, you can only go to school and your scheduled activities…"

Adrien stared blankly at the ground, "Yup."

"Well then… since you've got Chinese tomorrow, and nothing on Tuesday…" Marinette rubbed his hand.

Adrien laughed and squinted flirtily, "Yeah…"

Marinette bit her lip, "And you're already used to rebelliously running away…"

Adrien leaned over to Marinette, "Just what are you getting at? Other than telling me off?"

"On Tuesday, would you like to run off to the Paris Plage after school? It opened last week." Marinette grinned awkwardly, she wasn't one to enjoy lies, which included ditching Adrien's ride.

But Adrien's radiant smile soothed her, "Sounds like fun, I'll remember to pack my swimsuit on Tuesday."

"Great," Marinette put her hands on her knees and kicked her legs up.

Adrien whispered close enough for Marinette to feel his breath, "You'll wear a nice two-piece for me, right?"

Marinette opened her mouth to scold, when a woman plopped heavily onto the bench next to them, and wept. She was dolled up; it was clear she was a skilled artist, her makeup was excellently executed to perfectly compliment her features. What could a beautiful woman such as herself be crying about?

"Excuse me," Marinette lifted a polite finger at the woman, "What's the matter?" _And could you give me some beauty tips?_ Marinette wanted to add. Not that she'd have the time as a student and superhero to do much more than mascara, eyeliner, and lipgloss. She'd love to devote more time to experimenting with makeup, but it was ok as long as she looked better than Chloe. Which she _definitely_ did.

"Modeling agencies are brutal. There's just no pleasing them…" The woman pressed a tissue gently against her eyes, a purple butterfly fluttered around her head.

Marinette and Adrien stared at each other. Adrien cleared his throat, "Well, I think you look great. Maybe I could-"

"It doesn't matter what anyone thinks! It'll never mean anything to the agencies!" the woman clenched the tissue, lightly stained black. The butterfly disintegrated into the tissue.

"No!" Marinette stood up, some people stared.

A purple glow seemed to capture the woman's mind, she muttered something, then a darkness blanketed her. In a flash, the woman's lonely silhouette turned into a brilliant glamor girl; she wore an expensive looking fur bathrobe, and her face was painted in many colors.

"Is that all she's wearing?" Adrien stood up next to Marinette, "I hope she can't fly."

The woman walked like she was on a runway, with each step she glided higher and higher.

"Spoke too soon," Marinette slapped her hands over her eyes.

The crowds spread and fled, screaming without knowing what to scream for, other than a strange, half-naked woman flying over their heads.

Marinette and Adrien waited for the subway to clear, as the so-called "Beauty Queen" strolled off, then called to their kwamis to transform.

"Plagg?" Adrien remained himself, peeking into his hoodie.

Ladybug tightened her ponytail, "You can't find Plagg? Did you leave him in this morning's rush?"

Adrien scratched his head, "Maybe… but I doubt it, we've never been separated before."

Ladybug put her arm around Adrien's waist, "I'll take you home and you can look for him, then I'll wait for you here-"

"Wait, I don't think this is the right ring. It's made of plastic…" Adrien panted anxiously.

"What? Let me see," Ladybug grabbed Adrien's hand, "You're right… this definitely isn't an indestructible material."

"Where could the real ring be? This doesn't make any sense, I had it on all night… Plagg was there when you came," Adrien's eyes darted back and forth as if to search the inside of his mind.

Ladybug's eyes widened, "You should look in your dad's room. I don't know for sure, but when I left last night - er, this morning I guess - your dad came into your room."

Adrien put his hands to his face, "Why would my dad have it? Why would-"

"There are a lot of questions to ask, your dad is a bit mysterious, but there's no time. I'll take you home, and I'll wait for you to find it," Ladybug hugged Adrien closer and he put his hands around her neck, and they zipped off.

Ladybug and Chat Noir planned their next room from atop a building, watching Beauty Queen use her weaponized makeup tools and the like.

Chat Noir stretched, "Well it's been awfully quiet in terms of akumas up until now. This will definitely _make-up_ for lost time."

Ladybug pulled Chat's cat ear, "We don't have time for your dumb jokes, we have to figure this chick out."

Chat shrugged, "Hey, at least we know the _foundation_ of her problem."

Ladybug groaned, "Let's just go…"

Chat jumped down on his staff with Ladybug, and swung right into an attack.

"You have a way with getting hit, don't you Chat Noir?" Ladybug joked, after seeing he was fine.

Chat Noir got up, covered in a red gunk, "This is fine. I'm just in a bit of a _sticky situation_. Lipstick-y to be exact. Ugh, my legs can't move… and this won't come off!" Chat rubbed his legs.

"No! Don't rub it!" Ladybug rushed over to Chat. She dragged him by the tail behind a building and detransformed. Marinette took a pack of wipes out of her purse and wiped Chat's leg.

"Wow, it worked so easily!" Chat took the small pile of wipes Marinette handed to him.

"Why are you so impressed? Do you think you're on a commercial or something?" Marinette stood up and told Tikki to transform her.

"I've just never dealt with something as annoying as lipstick before," Chat slid a wipe through the gooey, red lipstick, and watched it leave an empty trail.

"Try to hurry," Ladybug grabbed her yo-yo, "And stop being such a magnet for attacks!"

Ladybug swung away and stopped in front of Beauty Queen.

"Your move, Beauty Queen!" Ladybug lowered her stance, ready for anything.

"If you know what's good for women around the world, you'll let me do this, Ladybug!" Beauty Queen whipped out a small black brush.

Ladybug whirled her yo-yo, "What's your plan?"

Beauty Queen spun around, "I will make everyone ugly except for myself, and I will be the most beautiful woman around. But don't worry, Ladybug, I have something different in mind for you!" she raised her wand-like brush and a black liquid spewed towards Ladybug. Out of nowhere, Chat Noir lunged forward, and they both fell to the ground.

The liquid hit a car, and melted it slowly. Chat Noir got off of Ladybug apologetically, "Woah, that was really ma _scary_. That stuff really stings when it gets into your eyes."

Beauty Queen scowled at Chat Noir, "Men are the scum of the earth. Who are you to judge my beauty?!" she aimed her fingernail tips at Chat, "Beauty Standard!"

Chat ducked, but a beam larger than anticipated drove him to a wall behind him. He fell and groaned.

"You look tired, why don't you BRIGHTEN UP A LITTLE?" Beauty Queen shot a beige cream at Chat, but this time he dodged it.

"Hey! Conceal, don't feel! You really need to let it go!" Chat grinned and hopped back to Ladybug's side.

Beauty Queen slouched, "Ugh, really…?"

"Yeah, I know…" Ladybug shook her head.

Beauty Queen was mostly concerned with Chat Noir, "You know, I think you'd look really good in this color!" She threw down a disk and a powder clouded Ladybug and Chat Noirs sight.

Chat Noir coughed and tried to wave away the pink powder, "Aw, you're makin' me _blush_."

Beauty Queen growled and made a large brush appear. It swept towards Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Ladybug zipped her yo-yo to a nearby tree, "Look out!"

Chat jumped out of the way with Ladybug, "Did you see how she just _brushed_ me off like that?"

"You're really enjoying yourself today, aren't you?" Ladybug put her hand on her hip as she pulled her yo-yo back to her.

"This is the best pun day ever, it's Punday Sunday!" Chat touched his chest proudly.

Suddenly, a chapstick came flying Chat's way. Ladybug grabbed her yo-yo again.

Chat sighed, "You know, it's really hard to avoid these attacks, like you said, when she's out to get _me_."

Ladybug grabbed Chat and tugged on the yo-yo to pull them away, "She's not out to get you, she's out get both of us!"

The chapstick didn't fall, instead it followed Ladybug wherever she went, and it was gaining.

Chat stretched his arm out and waved, the chapstick zoomed towards his arm, he swung his arm back at the last second, "See, Bugaboo? She hates men."

The chapstick continued zooming forward, headed for a large tree. Ladybug swung away from the tree, "Okay, you were right, Cupcake."

Chat frowned, "Shut up!"

"Nope, not until you stop calling me Bugaboo," Ladybug smiled.

Chat looked at Ladybug, "Not a cha-"

The chapstick made contact with the tree. It blew up, leaving a gaping bite in it's trunk.

"Wow! That's quite the _lip bomb_!" Chat looked back as Ladybug landed on the next building.

Ladybug gasped, "Oh no!"

"I know… I really liked that tree," Chat watched longingly.

"No! That tree's going to fall across the street, there's a child there!" Ladybug turned to Chat Noir, grabbing his leg and arm.

Chat struggled, "Wait! Don't throw me, I can get there on my-AAAAAAAAAAH!"

Chat flew just as the tree creaked loudly, leaning slowly towards the boy on the sidewalk. Chat grabbed his staff and extended it at an angle in front of the tree The staff caught the tree, the boy stood paralysed in the shadow of the tree.

Chat hung from the end of the pole, he glanced at the boy, "Go!"

The boy ran off. Chat shrunk the staff, falling and landing on his feet, and the tree collapsed

"Good job, Chat Noir." Ladybug came up behind Chat.

Chat looked unamused, "Yeah, yeah, let's go kick her ass."

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug threw her yo-yo into the sky.

A mirror landed in Ladybug's hands. Chat looked at the mirror, "Maybe she'll pass out when she sees how her face looks now."

"Probably not, but good thinking," Ladybug stepped up to Beauty Queen from behind, she covered her own face with the mirror, "Hey! You forgot someone."

Beauty Queen whipped around and gasped, "No one may be more beautiful than me!" She zapped the mirror, it reflected and hit her face.

Beauty Queen screamed and covered her face, "Don't look at me! I'm hideous! Oh, what irony, what hypocrisy!"

"Beauty Queen? More like drama queen," Chat Noir whispered. Ladybug elbowed him, then bent over to snatch the tissue from her pocket. She ripped it in half, and cleansed the dark butterfly.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug through the mirror into the sky. Everything went back to normal.

"Where am I?" The woman looked up to Ladybug.

Ladybug reached out her hand to help her up, "Ma'am, no one can set a true beauty standard except yourself. Don't shame other people's beauty standards and attack them because you can't or don't want to reach them, they don't matter. Yes, there are men out there who have unrealistic expectations, but not a many as you think. What you said earlier was only partially true. Yes, it's true that it doesn't matter what others think about you, but that includes modeling agencies. You know you look amazing, so go and keep trying until someone else knows it too. You walked out of your house this morning, happy with yourself, and happy with the effort you put into your look, that's where the beauty comes from."

"How did you know what I said earlier?" The woman squinted.

"Oh! Uh…" Ladybug sputtered.

Chat raised his hand knowingly, "You said it while you were akumanized."

"Oh… well, maybe you're right. There's a place meant for everyone, I just have to find mine," The woman off back to the subway.

"So… back to the matter at _hand_ ," Chat lifted his right hand.

"What could my dad possibly want with my ring," Adrien walked side by side with Marinette back towards the park.

Plagg peeked out of Adrien's hoodie, "I dunno, but I _did_ try waking you up when I saw your dad taking your ring off. There's only so much you can do when you don't want to be seen."

"Maybe he just wanted to observe it more closely after noticing it," Marinette held her wrist behind her back.

"I doubt he'd need a closer look after replicating it perfectly," Adrien stared at his ring.

"Well then, maybe the material. I don't know what these miraculous are made of, but I'd want my hands on it too, it's pretty good stuff. It's a fashion thing," Marinette tapped her earrings.

Tikki hung over the edge of Marinette's purse, "He won't have any luck, your miraculous is a mix of vibranium and magic."

"Vibranium…" Marinette got lost in thought.

"Adrien, Marinette, where have you been? It was dangerous out there just now, you should have come back as soon as you were in danger," Nathalie called from in front of the white limousine.

"It was easier to hide where we were," Adrien stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Marinette spoke softly, "So, you really think I shouldn't go? I figured it'd be worse if I _didn't_ go."

Adrien shook his head slightly, "No, it's fine. Let's just go through with it. You're probably right, and we would have had to do this sometime anyway. I'll take care of it."

Adrien and Marinette got into the limousine, Nathalie sat in the front with the chauffeur.

It was quiet for some of the ride, as it was a heavy atmosphere.

Marinette tapped her purse, then turned to Adrien, "So… you've worn mascara?"

Adrien smiled, "Yeah, I'm wearing some right now. Whenever I have a photo shoot, I wear mascara. Most blonds do, since their eyelashes are also blond."

Marinette shrugged, "I guess that make sense. But blond eyelashes are cute."

Adrien laughed, "You can hardly see blond eyelashes, much less think they're cute."

"Well when you _do_ see them, they are cute," Marinette lowered her voice to a whisper, "I noticed them on Chat Noir first, but also when you fell on me that one time."

"That was a good pie…" Adrien eyelids lowered. Marinette giggled and poked Adrien's cheek.

Nathalie peered at them, and saw Adrien's smile, her heart ached.

"We're here," Nathalie unbuckled her seatbelt.

When they got into the house, Gabriel was descending the stairs.

Marinette quivered, it was depressing and nerve racking to know the things that she did about her ex-rolemodel.

Gabriel stared at Marinette, "And who might you be?"

Marinette felt the need to do a small curtsy, "Oh, I'm Marinette."

"Oh, of course. You're the girl who made that lovely hat and won the competition," Gabriel reached his hand out to Marinette. She smiled politely.

"Though, Adrien was allergic to that hat," Gabriel folded his hands and turned to Adrien, "Why did you bring someone over, when you're fully aware that you're being punished?"

"I didn't bring her, Nathalie did," Adrien stepped aside.

Nathalie came forward, "She was at the shoot this morning. I figured you'd want to meet her and that Adrien would have something to say about her."

Gabriel frowned at Adrien, "Well?"

Adrien looked Gabriel dead in the eye, "Marinette… is my girlfriend." Marinette tried her best not to turn bright red, she had to turn away for a second to cool her face.

Adrien continued, "But I'm not-" Gabriel lifted his finger to silence his son. He turned to Marinette again, "So you win one pathetic little amateur fashion show, and you suddenly think yourself high and mighty enough to date Adrien."

Adrien raised his fists to his chest, "No!-" Gabriel put his hand firmly on Adrien's shoulder. Adrien closed his mouth and looked at the floor, he swallowed hard.

Gabriel squinted at Marinette, "You are painfully mistaken. My son-"

"I know. Your son is _special_. But he's not only special to you, he's special to me too. You want him to be protected? I can be there to protect him too," Marinette pointed her thumb at herself. Then she smiled brightly at Adrien, who was utterly shocked. Adrien looked up at Gabriel carefully. Gabriel's mouth was slightly open, his eyes twinkled at Marinette's smile.

Gabriel cleared his throat, "...Alright."

Marinette stared at Gabriel, "What?"

"I'm fine, if you're the one who's with Adrien," a blush played at the corner of Gabriel's cheeks, but he quickly recovered with a nervous adjustment to his glasses.


	13. Alley Cat

" _However_ , that doesn't mean you can follow him upstairs. Adrien, it's time you went to your room," Gabriel straightened his posture. He wasn't going to let himself slip like that again. Although, this girl was interesting.

Adrien stood in a daze, then smiled hesitantly and confusedly at Marinette, "Y-yes, sir," he lifted his hand to say goodbye, and walked upstairs. Gabriel noticed his sudden cooperation.

Marinette was just as surprised as Adrien, "Thank you, Mr. Agres-"

"I hope you realize I'm taking your word. If anything is to happen to Adrien, I'll hold it against _you_ ," Gabriel put his hands behind his back and walked away, Nathalie followed.

"You can count on me. Just be sure you're not the one hurting him," Marinette turned to walk out quickly. She'd went as far as she dared, and hoped to strike something in Gabriel without getting into an argument with him.

The next morning, Adrien and Marinette met at the front of the school.

Marinette gripped her purse strap, "Adrien… is that a-"

"Ladybug shirt? Why, yes, yes it is," Adrien spun around to display his getup.

Marinette grumbled, "Well, I hope everyone hates it and you're forced to never wear it again."

Adrien crossed his arms, "Even if they did, I wouldn't care."

Nino walked past Adrien, after seeing his enthusiastic interaction with Marinette, and pointed gun fingers at him, "Hey Adrien, nice shirt, dude."

Adrien turned to Nino and waved, "Oh, thanks, Nino."

Adrien whirled back around and smiled smugly, "I guess that means I'm forced to wear it every day now."

"Please don't," Marinette hung her head.

Adrien chuckled, "Alright, alright. Hey, promise me something?"

Marinette looked up at Adrien, "Yeah, what?"

"I want people to know we're dating, so don't hide it ok? I want to show you off," Adrien held out his hand.

"Wha-?! Only if you promise to get a little out of your comfort zone today- or in your comfort zone, I'm not really sure which it'd be," Marinette put her hand in Adrien's.

"I'm not really sure which it is either, but I'll try…" Adrien tightened his grip.

Marinette's pigtails moved in the breeze, they were back, "We're all friends here. No one's here to judge you, except yourself."

Adrien and Marinette walked up the stairs together.

In the classroom, Alya was already seated in the first row with Nino. Adrien winked at Alya, she responded with an _ok_ sign. Adrien let Marinette slide into the row first, with a gentle push to her back.

Sabrina leaned back and eyed them, "Chloe, are you _seeing_ this?"

Chloe didn't even flinch. Sabrina got up and marched angrily to Adrien, pointing an accusing finger at Marinette, "Just what do you think you're doing? Look what you've done to Chloe, she's broken. No wonder she acted so strange this weekend, she must've already known about this."

"I haven't done a thing, Sabrina. Adrien isn't preserved for Chloe," Marinette leaned towards Sabrina.

Sabrina rolled her eyes, "What are you doing with _her,_ Adrien? Didn't you know she's got pictures of you all over her room?"

Marinette shot up, "How did you-?" Oh that's right… the diary incident during the elections. She sat back down.

Marinette bit her lip. First the schedule, now the pictures! What more was there for Adrien to find out about?!

Adrien picked at his nail, seemingly unimpressed, "Yeah, I know. I've been in her room before. Multiple times, actually." _That_ made Chloe flinch.

Sabrina froze, then cackled, "Adrien Agreste has been in your room _multiple_ times, and you've never had sex, no doubt."

"Questionable…" Alya whispered, Marinette frowned at her.

Marinette looked at Chloe, who was looking down at her desk; making your best friend bully someone in your behalf and pretending not to notice, how low, "Don't try to make me feel bad to make up for your slutty guilt, Chloe," she turned back to Sabrina, "And why would that matter? You say that like Chloe has gotten any further than kissing Adrien on the cheek." Chloe tapped her fingers against her desk.

Sabrina pushed her glasses up, "Because anyone who was in your shoes, in their right mind, would have done it by now."

Adrien slammed his hand against the desk, "Why? Just what do you take me for?"

Sabrina jumped back. Chloe looked back, a little unsettled, "That's enough, Sabrina. It doesn't matter anymore."

Sabrina stared silently at Chloe, and walked back to her seat.

Adrien scooted closer to Marinette and whispered, "Wow, I guess what I said to Chloe made a difference."

Nino scratched his head, "Wait…", he turned around and pointed at Adrien and Marinette, "You guys, are like, a thing?"

Alya slapped her forehead, "Really, Nino?"

"What?! You never told me…" Nino leaned his elbow on the back of his seat.

Adrien smiled, "Yup, we started dating just this Friday."

"Dude…" Nino nodded his approval.

Miss Bustier entered the room and started class, it was time to save the conversation for later.

During the lunch break, Adrien, Marinette, Nino, and Alya got together.

"This is great," Alya wrapped her arms around Marinette and Adrien's shoulders, "Now we can go on double dates and stuff."

"Which reminds me. Marinette and I were talking about going to the Paris Plages tomorrow, you guys should come too. I can't today because I have Chinese, but it's better this way because it's a great way to celebrate the last day of school," Adrien rubbed his arm shyly.

Alya and Nino nodded. Alya took Marinette aside, "We need to go shopping after school."

Marinette had wanted Ladybug to follow Adrien to Chinese, "What? Why?"

"For a new bathing suit, duh. What does your current bathing suit look like, and how old is it?" Alya put her fist on her hip.

"Um…" Marinette thought about her one piece, floral bathing suit, which was developing stretch marks.

" _Exactly_. Tomorrow, we will get you the best bathing suit ever, that'll have Adrien drooling," Alya swept her hand in front of her to reveal the fantasy.

Alya let go of Marinette and walked away with Nino, waving behind her.

"What was that all about?" Adrien squeezed Marinette's shoulder.

Marinette rubbed the back of her head, "Oh… nothing."

Adrien crossed his arms, "Mhm, so, how many pictures of me do you own?"

Marinette took a step away from Adrien, "I-"

Adrien stepped closer, "Am I your computer's screensaver? Your background, maybe?"

Marinette's face paled, then rebooted into bright red, "I- how did you know that?"

Adrien smiled, "Lucky guess. It's just that _my_ background is of Ladybug."

Marinette blinked, "Oh… Oh!" she laughed, quite relieved.

"Hey! I didn't laugh at you," Adrien softly hit Marinette's arm.

"I'm not laughing at you, I'm laughing at _us_ ," Marinette managed between laughs.

"Yeah, I guess you'd never expect two people who are the biggest fans of one other to get together," Adrien tapped his chin.

Marinette hugged Adrien's arm, "So, were you gonna eat at home?"

Adrien tilted his head forward, "Not if you had something else in mind."

"Thank you, Mrs. Dupain Cheng. It's been awhile since I've had hachis parmentier," Adrien wiped his mouth with a napkin and got up to hand Sabine his empty plate.

Sabine nodded, taking the plate and putting it in the sink, "Anything for my future son-in-law."

Adrien's jaw dropped. Marinette clenched her teeth, "Mom!"

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck and smiled, "Well… we'd better get going before class starts."

"Alright, I have to get back to the restaurant to help Tom, you kids have fun," Sabine walked back downstairs, giggling.

Marinette put her plate in the sink, "Let's go before she takes a picture of us or something."

After class, Marinette waited with Adrien for his ride to arrive. Sabrina came up to them and apologized for what she'd said. Sabrina was a nice girl, but she had a way of obsessing over pleasing Chloe. She was always doing the wrong things at the wrong time, and she'd messed up again. Chloe was so difficult to read.

When she left, Adrien wrung his hands, "Hey, if you want… you can come with me to the Chinese lessons. I take them in the Chinese institute with a private tutor. You could wait in the lobby… if you want, and we could hang out a little bit afterwards before I get picked up."

Marinette felt guilt build up inside of her, "Sorry, Alya already asked me to somewhere with her… but maybe I can catch up with you, how long is the lesson?"

"Two hours, more or less. I usually end up waiting a few minutes before class because I get there early, and I wait for my ride when the class is over," Adrien shrugged.

Marinette looked determined, "I'll be there before you get out, I promise."

Adrien's eyebrows slanted, "You don't have to promise anything, it was just a thought."

His car pulled up. He frowned and then made a spiteful face. Marinette watched Adrien's reflection on the car window lean in front of her.

Adrien gave her a peck on the mouth, "Later, Princess."

He hopped in the car.

Marinette caught a brief clip of - slightly annoyed - conversation from Nathalie, "If you and Marinette-" the door slammed shut, and the car drove off.

Alya ran up to Marinette and hugged her from behind, "Woah, since when does Adrien have those kind of guts?"

"Ever since his dad totally approved of us," Marinette squealed.

"Oh my God, _what?_ That's like… impossible," Alya grabbed Marinette's face, "You just have this really amazing effect on people." Marinette smiled as best she could between puffed up cheeks.

Alya took Marinette by the hand, "Now, let's go shopping already!"

Marinette scanned the racks dubiously. There weren't as many one-pieces as there used to be. Not unless she wanted to wear a large childrens' bathing suit. She saw one with a large print of her face, that is, Ladybug's face on it. She grumbled.

Alya perked up, "Oh, Marinette! Since you seem to be so into the hero-themed suits, how about _this_ one?"

Marinette's eyes widened, "God, no."

"You talk about Chat Noir a _lot_ ," Alya shook the black crop-tank bikini, the plastic bell on the chest jingled. The bathing suit was a detailed copy of Chat Noir's costume, complete with a fabric tail. Clearly a bathing suit that was for sure, and practically useless for swimming.

"I get it," Alya flashed her eyebrows, "You need a top that will show off some cleavage. Well surprise, surprise." Alya pulled out another Chat Noir bikini, this time with a triangle top; the bell was snug between the cups, where a bow would have been if it was a bra.

"Nooo!" Marinette was so embarrassed by the bikini she ran up to Alya, and put it back on the rack.

Alya shook her head, "I thought you said you were in a hurry, Marinette? You said Adrien wanted to hang out with you."

"I know, but I won't wear a Chat Noir bathing suit. Over my dead body," Marinette crossed her arms.

"Fine," Alya reached over to another rack, "How about this Ladybug one?" she held the bathing suit up to Marinette's chest, "Hey, you know what? On you... this looks-"

Marinette smacked the bathing suit from Alya's hands, "On second thought, why don't I go try on that Chat Noir one?"

"That's the spirit!" Alya shoved the Chat Noir tank bikini on Marinette.

Marinette walked over to the dressing rooms. How did she get herself into this? Why couldn't she wear a normal bathing suit? Just grab a plain, maybe colorful, bathing suit and go. Unfortunately, about 80% of those were too revealing for her tastes, and the rest were out of the question in Alya's opinion. There was a really cute one displayed on a poster, but those had been sold out. The Ladybug bathing suits were close to be sold out as well. The Chat Noir ones on the other hand, not nearly as much, the majority of the Chat themed suits that sold were the male swim shorts. Girls wanted to dress up as Ladybug, and force their boyfriends into Chat Noir suits. She couldn't buy this, what was Adrien going to think?

The inside of the bathing suit had little green pawprints. It was reversible. Marinette sighed. She slipped into the top, the bell jingled. Perfect fit.

"It's perfect!" Alya stole a picture on her phone. Marinette didn't react, she gave up.

Alya turned Marinette back to the changing rooms, "Go change, and let's go buy it. Shoot, I'll buy it for you."

Marinette looked down at herself, "But-"

"And then you can go see your _boyfriend_ ," Alya made kissing noises.

Marinette frowned, and marched into the changing room.

Adrien smiled as he walked down the hall and saw Marinette seated in the lobby. She was hiding Tikki from a passerby.

"Hey, Princess!" Adrien sounded as happy as a puppy reunited with their owner. He noticed Marinette's delayed response, "What's wrong? Are you mad about something?"

Marinette rubbed her purse, "You can ask Alya, tomorrow," she patted the seat next to her, "Now, sit."

Adrien was caught off guard by the sternness in her voice. He liked it. Though he wasn't one to enjoy being at anyone's command, and the last thing he wants when he's free as Chat Noir is for someone to take hold of his tail. But he needed it, to keep him from making rash decisions. If you free a caged animal, they're likely to go wild unless you have them on a leash. Plus, when it came to his Lady, he lived to please. Who would dare disobey such a beautiful face?

Adrien did as he was told. Marinette pointed a finger at him, "Just a fair warning, tomorrow, _not a_ _ **word**_."

Adrien put his bag down, "About wha-"

"Doesn't matter," Marinette put her hand on his knee, "You'll know it when you see it. And when you do, DON'T."

"Does it have to do with the Alya thing?" Adrien scratched the back of his hand.

Marinette nodded.

"So, will I be seeing you tonight, or…?" Adrien mirrored Marinette, whose hand still rested on his knee, but instead rubbed upwards to her thigh.

Marinette moved his hand to her shoulder, "Why wouldn't you?"

Adrien pulled her closer, tilting his head and parting his lips.

"Ahem," The lady behind the counter in the back of the lobby stared at Adrien, who was facing her. Adrien and Marinette pulled apart.

"Can you bring me something?" Adrien batted his eyes.

"Uh-uh, you eat whatever you're served tonight, Mister," Marinette scratched his chin, much like she would with Chat, "It'd be suspicious since you haven't eaten at home in the past 2 days."

"Yeah, I guess you're right…" Adrien leaned his head against Marinette's shoulder.

"Adrien, Nathalie's here," Marinette touched Adrien's arm.

Adrien looked over, and saw Nathalie waiting patiently in a corner, "Oh…" he got up and grabbed his bag, "Why don't we drop you off?"

Marinette hurried upstairs after dinner.

Marinette set her pillows the usual way, just in case, "Okay, Tikki, spots on!"

Ladybug sent a text message to Adrien as a heads up before jumping off her balcony. She felt a cool breeze brush against her cheeks as she whizzed through the air. It was exciting to fly around like this without it being for some superhero business. She never would have guessed she'd ever be Ladybug for fun, much less to visit Adrien Agreste every night.

It wasn't long before she was approaching Adrien's house. She landed on the roof above Adrien's room. The window was open, Adrien was resting his head on his crossed arms over the window sill.

He sighed, "Oh, Plagg… is all of this real?"

Ladybug smiled above him, she was reminded of something, "She speaks! Oh, speak again, bright angel!"

Plagg squinted up at Ladybug with a demeaning expression, Adrien was quiet for a moment, "Oh Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?"

Ladybug laughed, and lowered herself upside-down in front of Adrien, "Shall I hear more, or shall I speak at this?"

"Neither," Adrien bit his lip.

Ladybug grabbed Adrien's face and pulled herself closer, she softly bit into Adrien's lower lip. Their kiss held longer and-

"I can't tell if you two are nerds, or just plain gross. Same thing…" Plagg drifted away and sat on the couch to eat some cheese.

Adrien groaned, "Plagg, you ruin everything!"

Ladybug flipped over and swung into Adrien's bedroom, "How was dinner?" she took Adrien by the shoulders and walked him over to his bed.

Adrien rolled his eyes, "Oh, that's right, you _gotta_ hear this. Listen closely, this is a good one."

Students flooded out of the school building. The lockers were being emptied, old papers littered the hallways, kids walked around with trash bags to clean it all up. Finally, school was out.

"Everyone all set? I'm sure you're all wearing your bathing suits underneath?" Alya stood boldly in front of her friends.

Adrien nodded. Nino gave her a thumbs up. Marinette's eye twitched.

Alya put her arm around Marinette, "Looks like everyone except Marinette. If she'd worn it, we would've _heard_ about it by now."

Adrien and Nino exchanged confused looks. Adrien opened his mouth slightly in a small burst of realization. This must have to do with what Marinette was grumbling about.

Alya gave Marinette's shoulder a pat, "But it's alright, there are some changing sheds and cabanas."

The four of them took the subway to the nearest Paris Plage location, and paid for entry tickets. Alya, Nino, and Adrien only had to slip out of a few layers in the cabanas. Alya cheerfully pushed Marinette into a changing shed. Adrien was overflowing with curiosity.

Marinette poked her head out. Alya waved her over, but Adrien was staring. Did she tell him? She probably did, and now he couldn't wait to see. Maybe Marinette was just being paranoid. It didn't matter whether he already knew or not, he was about to see her now. Marinette jingled as she slid out of the shed, holding her bag behind her.

Adrien's eyes grew big, but he held his tongue, and it wasn't easy. Marinette walked over, her eyes glued to the ground.

"So, Adrien, what do you think?" Alya pushed him closer to Marinette.

"It's…" beads of sweat built up on Adrien's forehead, and it wasn't the heat, it was actually quite nice out. Adrien studied Marinette, careful… careful, "Cute…?" But there was so much more to say. He knew if he'd said, 'Seeing her like that makes me want to come here more often," or even, "I'm shocked she'd wear something like this, she must really admire Chat Noir. She looks so good in it too, how am I gonna keep my _paws_ off?" would be a one way ticket to sudden death.

Alya pulled Marinette's tail and twirled her around, "Oh, it's more than cute, and you know that. Not revealing enough for you? Look here…"

Adrien raised his hands and waved frantically, "No! It's not that-" by accident he glanced down where Alya was indicating. His red face made things worse for him.

"I thought so! No one can stay a perfect gentleman forever," Alya cackled. Marinette whirled around.

Adrien covered his cheeks, "No, please! I'm nice… Why can't…"

Another reason Adrien knew he couldn't have afforded any such commentary: Alya wouldn't let him hear the end of it. Maybe he had tried to relax too soon.

Marinette would have scolded Adrien… but, "Alya, leave him alone. Can't he take a break without being judged?", she was so disappointed that Alya didn't treat him the way she'd expected from her. But, how could Alya have known? Wouldn't knowing make everyone behave a certain way out of pity? Was Marinette _herself_ acting out of pity?

Alya looked confused, "Sorry, I was just joking."

Maybe the problem wasn't that Adrien was being judged, but that he needed to learn to take a friendly joke; because, in the end, it was unexpected for him to do anything even remotely unethical.

But for now, "Well, it was kind of harsh for a joke," Marinette looked away.

Alya put her hand on Adrien's bare shoulder, "Did I offend you? I'm sorry, I had no idea. But it's true, your lifestyle is pretty strict. Which is why you should be allowed to relax around us, and that includes taking a joke, friends do it all the time," she winked and walked off with Nino. Leave it to Alya to be blunt… and leave Adrien and Marinette in an awkward silence.

Marinette put her hair ties in her bag, "So, where do you want to go first? I'm assuming Alya and Nino are walking over to the pool."

Adrien ran his finger through his hair, "You wanna just lay on the sand?"

Adrien and Marinette sat down under one of the many large, blue umbrellas. Adrien snorted when Marinette sat down and he heard a jingle.

Marinette grunted, "I thought I said-"

"You said, and I quote, 'not a word.' That wasn't a word," Adrien stuck his tongue out. Chat Noir was back. Marinette hated to admit it, but she liked seeing Adrien like this.

Marinette rolled over on her side, "Whatever."

Adrien lied down beside her and rested his chin on her shoulder, "Aww, is that your little belly?" he poked her torso.

She slapped his hand, "What about it?"

Adrien laughed, "It's so round!"

"You don't think I know that?" Marinette glared at Adrien, "There weren't any one-pieces in my size-"

"Woah, woah… I never said you don't look good! You look great," Adrien grinned.

Marinette sighed "I've been trying to get rid of that stubborn little thing for like, forever. How much jumping around as Paris' heroine do I have to do to get some results?"

Adrien was glad he'd touched up on the subject, girls could be so self-conscious, "Princess, there's nothing wrong with your figure. Do you know how many girls want to look like you? Being Ladybug is paying off too, you're stronger than you used to be. Granted, the suit does take most of the weight and force, but that's not the point. But, if you really want to know why, you are living in a bakery, remember? Late nights as Ladybug, let's say, you snack at night?"

It kind of pissed her off that Adrien was throwing model knowledge at her, but she answered anyhow, "Yeah…"

"And what do you snack on?" Adrien's tone reminded Marinette of a parent who was shaming their child.

Marinette hesitated, "Filled donuts-"

"There it is," Adrien snapped his fingers.

"Well, can you blame me? And what the heck do you eat anyway? Don't act like you aren't starving when you get home late at night?" Marinette pouted her lip.

"I just drink enough water to make myself think I'm not hungry, and go to sleep before I get hungry again," Adrien put his hand on Marinette's hip.

Marinette laughed sarcastically, "Of course you do. And for the record, that doesn't give an excuse as to why you'd be fitter and stronger than me. Don't get me wrong, I eat perfectly balanced meals throughout the day!"

Adrien shrugged, "I take fencing…"

Marinette stuttered, "Well… the suit doesn't take _that_ much of the weight for me…"

Adrien raised an eyebrow, "Marinette, I can tell you right now, you can _not_ pick me up over your head."

 _Touche monsieur escrimeur_.

"It's not a competition, you're really strong, Marinette. You should be proud of that," Adrien kissed Marinette's cheek.

"Yeah, well, just keep in mind who will be opening your jars…" Marinette closed her eyes.

Adrien bit his lip, "Yeah? When?"

Marinette noticed her slip-up, "Uh, um… what I meant was…"

"You are so adorable," Adrien squeezed her, he grabbed her stomach.

"Stop that!" Marinette shoved Adrien's hand away.

"But it's cute!" He poked her again.

Marinette slapped his hand, "Is _not_."

Adrien became suspicious at her jumpiness, "Hey… are you ticklish?"

"... no," Marinette became tense.

Adrien smirked, "You _so_ are!", he crept his hand closer again.

Marinette twitched, "Stop."

Adrien proceeded to tickle Marinette. She kicked and laughed, driving her further into the curve of Adrien's torso.

"Seriously…. Stop!" Marinette laughed.

"Nope," Adrien shifted and leaned forward to bite Marinette's waist. She squeaked.

Adrien kissed her side. He kissed her shoulder. He kissed her chest. He kissed her neck. Kissed her cheek. Her mouth.

"Let's go meet up with Alya and Nino at the pool," Adrien nipped Marinette's ear.

Marinette nodded. Adrien helped her to her feet, they grabbed their bags, and they walked down to the pavement.

After walking down a flight of stairs, passing some sunbathers, and walking down another flight of stairs, they had arrived at the Joséphine Baker pool. Alya was riding Nino's back in the pool. The lifeguard blew his whistle at them, no horsing around in the pool. Marinette slipped out of her flip-flops and walked over to the starting blocks of the pool, mounted one, and jumped in. The water gave a brief, cold, shocking sensation. Marinette's ears felt cupped as she heard the muffled bubbles swarm around her. A moment later she heard a clap in the water, followed by more bubbles. She opened her eyes. It stung a little, but she adjusted. Adrien was in front of her. Bubbles escaped his lips when he smiled. Marinette took his forearm and pulled herself forward to kiss him. Kissing underwater was another thing to add and cross off of her bucket list.

Marinette put her arms around Adrien's neck, when someone grabbed Adrien's arm and lifted the two of them above water. Adrien and Marinette's mouths parted, but in the shock of it all, Marinette kept her arms around Adrien. They stayed frozen in their desperate confusion, their bangs were flattened partially over their eyes, but they still knew who was standing beside them.

"Well if it isn't the two lovebirds…" Alya's tone was sarcastic.

Marinette finally brushed her bangs back, "Did we do something wrong?", Adrien did the same.

Alya snickered, "No, I'm just getting a kick out of this. I got a waterproof phone case by the way."

"So?" Marinette's voice quivered a little.

Alya swiped her thumb across her phone screen, "Oh nothing, saw something interesting though…" she turned her phone screen to Marinette. A perfect shot of Adrien and Marinette pressed up against each other, kissing underwater. Now that they could see themselves, Adrien and Marinette became incredibly embarrassed.

Marinette swiped at Alya's phone, "Delete it!"

Alya backed away, "Not in a million years! You think I'm gonna mind my own business after all this time of waiting for the two of you to hook up? And trying to _help_ you hook up?"

A beach ball whacked Alya in the back of the head, "Hey! Who- NINO!" Alya marched away as best she could through the 5 ft water.

Adrien rubbed his chest, "Your bell kinda hurts by the way…"

"Oh, shut up," Marinette snarled.

Marinette's attention turned to a man who was storming away from a couple at the poolside, "Adrien…"

"Yeah, let's go," Adrien climbed out of the pool, and Marinette followed.

They tried to catch up with the man before the akuma did, too late. It was best to just go transform instead of waiting for him to be akumanized. Adrien and Marinette slipped into a cabana together, looking around before exiting.

Once outside, everything seemed a bit brighter. They turned in the direction of the akumanized victim, squinting. Upon approach and repositioning, it appeared the man was entirely covered in something reflective, he was a giant mirror in the form of a man.

"I am the Revealer, watch as I expose your true selves hiding under those fraud masks," The Revealer reflected beams of light to people. One bronze man who was surrounded by women, turned pale and wore tattered clothes, he ran off. A woman who was modestly covered, went scarcely dressed. She shrieked and hid behind a tree.

"You can find her on those websites you shouldn't be visiting," The Revealer sneered. Citizens ran like they never had before.

"This is sinister," Chat Noir's eyes darted back and forth to every man and woman who was experiencing the most traumatizing day of their lives.

"And it's bad news for us, what if it shows our secret identities?" Ladybug spun her yo-yo.

Chat pulled out his staff, "Could it really do that?"

"Let's not wait and find out, try not to get hit this time," Ladybug dashed towards The Revealer, dodging his attacks.

"Oh, ha ha, very funny," Chat came running after.

A pair of girls, who seemed to be twins, got hit. One changed to wear the opposite of her sister: opposite hair color, new clothes, she wanted to be different. Her sister became a boy.

"I wasn't ready to tell you!" he ran away in tears.

Ladybug turned to Chat Noir, "Chat, I think this is deeper than what people show in public versus who they are in private. It's also how people feel about, or maybe see themselves…"

"Those are all correct," The Revealer couldn't help but eavesdrop, "Masks and their purposes vary. We all wear masks. But which one is real, Ladybug? The one that hides your face? Or the one that _is_ your face?"

Chat Noir stood still in a daze. When The Revealer aimed at Chat, he didn't notice. Once he saw the beam coming, there was no time to move out of the way. It hit him. Ladybug ran towards him, ready to cover his secret identity. But maybe he wouldn't change, maybe he would stay the same. What would he change to? He was such a complicated person, this would be an answer to a mystery.

"Well that's not what I expected…" The Revealer lowered his arms, disappointed.

Ladybug looked down to her cradling arms, "Chat Noir?!"

"You mean I'm still Chat Noir?" Chat tried to stand up, but he couldn't get his legs to straighten and lift him up.

"Not… exactly…" Ladybug went from stunned to trying to hold in a laugh.

"Mrrreow? Wait… did I just…" Chat Noir looked down at himself. Fluffy paws where his hands should have been. He looked back, a real tail danced back and forth. Chat froze, then spontaneously jumped up into the air and meowed loudly - but it was more of a scream - and dashed off.

"Chat wait! I guess this is all the more reason to avoid getting hit… I'd be useless as an actual ladybug," Ladybug went to catch Chat Noir, who was now an _actual_ chat noir.

"Speaking of useless," The Revealer… eavesdropping again, "That's not how this thing is supposed to work!" he yelled at his ring, a promise ring. Of course, that's where the akuma was!

Ladybug ran away faster, it was time to think up a plan. She slowed down when she heard a crash. Turning, she saw a little black furball crouched on some fire escape stairs.

"There you are," Ladybug approached slowly.

Chat hissed, "Ah… sorry, I didn't mean it," he looked away shamefully.

"Aw, it's ok. Come here, I need you," Ladybug reached her arms out to grab Chat Noir.

"No. Besides I won't be any help, I don't have my powers," Chat scooted back further.

"So what? Cats are perfectly capable of helping take down the bad guy. Look over there, you managed to knock over all of that junk and escape without a scratch! Cats are great for hit'n'runs. They can pack a punch but they're too small and fast to catch easily. Now come here, kitten," Ladybug smiled.

"I am _not_ a kitten," Chat's ears flattened.

"Awww, look at my cute little kitty! Isn't he just the cutest little thing?" Ladybug folded her hands.

"NOT HELPING," Chat's tail wagged back and forth and thrashed it against the steel grate staircase platform.

Ladybug pretended to be shocked, "Is little Adrikins losing his temper with me?!"

Chat Noir meowed aggressively, "Don't call me that."

"Okay. I understand that this inconvenience has gotten you a little touchy, but you'll be back to normal faster if you cooperate. Now, let's go, seriously. I have a plan," Ladybug stretched her fingers out, "And let me take that bell collar off of you, it takes away from your cat stealth."

Finally, Chat Noir strolled over to Ladybug, and let her carry him. Which wasn't so bad. Ladybug used her yo-yo to fly over the building, later lowering herself behind The Revealer, who was distracted.

Chat Noir looked up at Ladybug, "Don't you think this is a good time to use your Lucky Charm?"

"Remember when I said _you_ were my lucky charm?" Ladybug put Chat down, "It's your time to shine!"

Chat Noir prowled up to The Revealer. He lowered himself, ready to pounce. 3...2...1…

"Gaaaahh!" The Revealer scrambled around, Ladybug raced towards him.

The Revealer spun in circles, Chat dug his claws into his shoulders to stay on.

The Revealer yelped, "Get him off me!"

"Gladly," Ladybug punched him square in the jaw. Chat jumped off while The Revealer fell. Chat rubbed against Ladybug's shin. She scratched his chin, he purred. Ladybug bent over The Revealer and slid his ring off. She threw it on the ground and snapped it under her foot.

Ladybug watched the little white butterfly vanish into the sky, then threw her yo-yo in the air, "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Chat Noir got up and hugged Ladybug, "Bugaboo! It's good to be taller than you again…"

"Man, I'm gonna miss the kitty cat," Ladybug put her hand on her chest wistfully.

"Hey!" Chat bent his knees, "I'm cute too!"

Ladybug yanked Chat by his bell, "Yeah… and I knew you'd be the one to get hit again!"

Chat crossed his heart, "I promise, I'll be more careful from now on, I won't ever let it happen again."

But it did happen. Again, and again, and again, in the far future. They were going to be an emotional rollercoaster for Ladybug. Some would be practically harmless, and amusing.

Like when a woman, complaining about how short life was, turned Chat into a baby. He aged gradually, minutes would pass and he would be a toddler, and later a child. Ladybug thoroughly enjoyed carrying carrying baby Chat, but grew weary when he reached preteen years. He would say how stupid everything was and how he wanted to go home. He did achieve a few minutes of his real age, which was short lived, because then he became an adult and wouldn't stop complaining about his back… Ladybug knew it was time to use her Lucky Charm.

Also, when a man was angry about getting the wrong thing in the mail, and decided he would turn everyone and everything into it's opposite. Chat turned into a girl, this was very traumatic for him and Ladybug alike.

Other times would give Ladybug a heart attack. There would be a time when a woman who hated men, would make Chat vanish. But, it turned out, he was only invisible and it ended up coming to their aid. Except for when Ladybug accidentally hit Chat with her yo-yo.

But all this hadn't happened yet, so Chat didn't know any better.

"Don't make a promise you can't keep," Somehow, Ladybug did know better.

Ladybug and Chat Noir detransformed behind a sign.

They walked quietly until Adrien spoke up, "I can't believe you called me Adrikins. Do you know how much I hate that nickname?"

"Well I hate the girl who says it… no offense," Marinette caught what she'd just said.

"None taken, I don't blame you," Adrien shrugged.

Marinette thought for a moment, "Speaking of Chloe, she's been leaving us alone. It's kind of weird, I know why, but I feel bad now."

"I'm sure she'll recover," Adrien stared ahead.

"I wonder what she would've turned into if she'd been hit by The Revealer. What was she like before?" Marinette pulled her hair back into pigtails. Much better, her first day as Ladybug with her hair down was frustrating.

"I wouldn't know where to start. She was different at first, but she changed the older we got. But I'd never seen her the way she acts at school. I don't care what her reason is, she has no excuse to be that way," Adrien looked personally hurt.

Marinette put her hand on his arm, "Well, even so, you're still her friend. She needs someone to check on her."

Adrien sighed, "Yeah, I'll go talk to her."

Hey guys! Sorry this is so late! I had the worst writer's block I've had in months! Also... this is my longest chapter yet :/

Also, sorry if I got the French line wrong or the location of the Josephine Baker pool wrong. I wasn't sure where it was in comparison to the temporary beaches, but I knew it was along the same river and that it was open for the same Paris beach rage. I don't live in France, nor am I French. I am Hispanic, which helps understand a few French words, but that's about it. I guess my mom could've translated, she learned French and is now fluent, but who wants to explain an ml fanfic to their mom? Anywho, hope you liked it! :)


	14. I'm All Ears

Chloe was left with nothing to do on the first day of summer vacation. Sabrina had gone on a family vacation, but was due back before summer ended. It was very common for families to go on vacation for as much as a month. Which is why you'd expect the daughter of a mayor to be basking on tropical beaches or something. But something about daily akuma attacks and newcome superheroes just made a mayor busier! Her immediate next thought was to call Adrien up- oh, right. Things were changing between her and Adrien more than ever. What was with that dumb cat, spewing out a wise lesson out of nowhere? Still… the night Chat Noir had said those things to her - no matter how much she told herself it was nonsense - something about his voice made it persuasive. And now, just two days ago, she'd found out he was right. He was dating Marinette, of all people, though predictable. Nothing she could do or say would change Adrien, he loved her in a different way, but she might've ruined that too. Could she even approach him anymore?

Adrien had been an obsession all this time and she hadn't really acknowledged it. So what was she supposed to do now? The next best thing to do, was sit around in a hot bath. But with baths came time to reflect, and all she could think about was-

"Ugh, this isn't _soothing_ at all," Chloe threw the plastic bath bomb packaging on the floor after reading it again.

Chloe stepped out of the bath tub and grabbed a towel. She dried herself and undid her bun, there was a knock on the door down the hall. The entrance of her room was a bit far from her bathroom.

"What is it, Gautier?!" Chloe covered herself with the towel, as though Gautier, her butler, could see right through her bedroom walls.

"There is someone here to see you, Mademoiselle!" Gautier paused, "Should I send them away?!"

Are you kidding, "No, no! Just give me a minute!" oh God, that sounded desperate, "No need to wait around, Gautier, I know you have things to do, just leave them there. I'll open the door when I look presentable!" Chloe rushed around with her towel, who would come without warning her? She looked terrible! Knowing someone was waiting outside her door was too much pressure to be able to put on makeup and-

"Alright, but no need to keep your guest waiting either! You can relax, it's a friend!" Gautier walked away.

A friend? Well, that didn't mean she could open the door in a towel and with her hair all humid. She put her hair back in a bun, and put on her fluffy, red with black polka dotted bathrobe.

She walked over and opened the door, she held her breath and almost smiled, but she shook it off, "Adrien?"

"Hey… Chloe," Adrien's voice cracked a little.

Chloe looked away, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Marinette or something?" She looked back at Adrien, "I'll bet she doesn't even know you're here, there's no way she'd let you come."

"Actually, she's the one that suggested I come here," Adrien tugged on his shoulder bag, he'd brought it mostly as a place to keep Plagg.

Chloe's face softened, "What? Really? Wait… that means it wasn't _your_ idea. You wouldn't have come-"

"Don't get me wrong, I wanted to come. It's important. Can I come in?" Adrien ducked his head slightly as a way of asking permission.

Chloe stayed quiet for a moment, then stepped out of the way to let Adrien in.

Adrien walked with Chloe to her bedroom and sat on the ottoman at the foot of Chloe's bed, while she went over to her walk-in closet to pick something to wear.

Chloe opened the closet doors, "So, what's up?"

Adrien stared at the tied curtain that Chloe was standing behind, "Well, I want you to know that we're still friends. I'm willing to put everything that happened last school year behind me, as long as you make sure that next year will be different." He heard Chloe's bathrobe fall on the floor, one of the sleeves peeked out from behind the curtain.

Chloe opened a drawer, "What? Didn't you notice? I've already changed my attitude since Monday, isn't that a good thing?"

"Chloe, ignoring us isn't the same as being nice to us. Not to mention that since Monday, you've been meaner to other classmates. I'm worried about you, I don't think you're as okay as you try to look," Adrien leaned on his knees and looked at the floor.

Chloe came around the corner fully dressed. She stood in front of Adrien and raised her hands, "So, like, what? I try to get between you and Marinette, and you don't like it. I stay out of your way, and you still don't like it… well, shit," She slapped her hands on her thighs and walked past Adrien to the bathroom.

Adrien shifted around ,more in Chloe's direction, but didn't look directly at her, "No Chloe, that's not the problem. Yes, I want you to let Marinette and me be happy. But there's got to be some sort of place in between, where you're happy too."

Chloe blinked at her reflection, and pulled out a hair tie from her bathroom drawer, "I _am_ happy. So I was a little possessive of you, it was a mistake I shouldn't have made as a friend. At school, I showed you a side of me that I wish you hadn't, and it wasn't even _me_ … but geez, Adrien, a girl stops going crazy over you and you think they aren't happy. A little self-centered, don't you think?"

"That's not- and _you're_ one to talk," Adrien looked up at Chloe, she was holding her hair in a ponytail and stretching out a hair tie. Just when Adrien finished his sentence and looked up at her, her thumb slipped and the hair tie flung towards Adrien's face.

Adrien squirmed when the hair tie flicked his cheek. Chloe tried not to laugh, "Ohmygod, I'm sorry, that was _not_ on purpose!"

Adrien picked up the hair tie and tugged on the other end, "I'm sure it wasn't."

The hair tie flew and hit Chloe's nose, "Hey!" She marched out of the bathroom and picked up a pillow, "It really wasn't!" and whacked Adrien in the face with it.

Adrien fell backwards in his seat, "If that's how you wanna play it," he turned and reached for another cushion.

"Don't you dar-mph" Chloe nearly lost her balance when the pillow drove into the side of her face.

Chloe bent over to pick up the pillow she'd dropped, "Oh. You just made a big mistake."

Adrien laughed, _this_ was the Chloe he once knew, "Did I, now?"

Chloe swung. Adrien countered. The cushions collided like swords. A pillow hit down on Adrien's head. Another on Chloe's hip. It didn't end until Chloe gave up and threw a blanket over Adrien.

"Ah, trying to pull the wool over my eyes I see," Adrien found a corner and lifted the blanket above his head.

"Ew, no it's velvet silk, obviously. Wool is so ugly," Chloe took the blanket and tossed it onto the bed.

Adrien got up, "It was supposed to be a joke, but, wool isn't ugly."

"Well, maybe not, but what can I say? I like shiny stuff," Chloe caressed the sheets, she glanced at Adrien, "What are you looking at me like that for?"

Adrien half-shut his eyes, "I missed you."

Chloe went quiet.

"Seriously, Chloe, you can talk to me. What's wrong? I can help," Adrien came closer to Chloe.

Chloe sat down on the bed, "No, you can't."

"Why?" Adrien went back to the ottoman.

Chloe looked towards the head of her bed, she picked up the teddy bear that sat there, and studied it, "Because you're in love with someone else."

Now it was Adrien's turn to have no words.

Chloe scooted back and criss-crossed her legs, "There's no problem except that you don't get that I need time to get over it."

"I'm sorry," Adrien looked at the floor.

"Don't be," Chloe tugged on the teddy bear's ear.

Adrien leaned forward, "Mind if I ask, why you've always been like that at school? Even before I started attending? Was it… Was it because you were afraid of what people would think of you?" A lash out to those who are able to be themselves, perhaps?

"No… but it's… selfish," Chloe mumbled.

"So what? _Tell me_ ," Adrien's eyes narrowed.

Chloe lied down, "I dunno… it's not fair to you."

"How could that be? It wouldn't be fair to _not_ tell me," Adrien touched the back of Chloe's hand.

Why? Because she couldn't tell him everything, that's why. And because it had to do with, "Your mother," Chloe shut her eyes, to keep them from watering, "Was just as important to me, as she was to you." Her eyes shot open, "And it just feels so wrong to whine about her, to _you_."

Adrien swallowed hard, "I understand. But I feel as though, in a way, she was your mother too. You had it worse than me."

Chloe's mother, Désirée, was stiff and self-absorbed. Another person consumed by the infection of luxury. 'Only the best' might as well have been her motto. Her hair was always short, around her jaw. A bang hung from her left side, but didn't quite cover her eye. She loved fur, wore it everywhere with gowns and the like. She was always trying to make Chloe do the same. Rich girls had to present themselves a certain type of way. But Chloe was stubborn, and far too out of hand. Certainly, Chloe loved the high-end clothing and other spoils that came with money. What she didn't like was the boredom that came with it.

She was a wild little beast. Naturally, when their paths crossed at a very young age, she'd drag Adrien into the trouble she caused. They were only about six-years-old when they met. Adrien was rather calm, he liked to sit and read with his mother. Chloe was a ball of energy, reading was not an option. Adalene had no problem adjusting to that. Besides, she loved the adventure in Chloe. Adeline was the only defender Chloe and Adrien had when they, rather... Chloe, got into trouble. Adrien tried to keep her in line, but there was no reasoning with her. No matter how much he'd tried, that time 8-year-old Chloe broke into a room being prepared to be a dinner hall, he couldn't keep her away from the desserts.

She had said to him, "C'mon, your dad _never_ let's you eat sweets. And I think you're a little young to be watching your diet."

And Adrien, being the obedient child that he was, "It's all so unhealthy, I don't have any reason to want it." Little did he know that temptation and craving built with time, and after years of having _literally_ , no taste of freedom, he wouldn't be able to resist.

Nonetheless, Adrien's demeanor had no influence on Chloe, and she attacked the cakes, puddings, macarons… up until the four parents entered the room. Her father, André, was speechless in a bad way. Désirée was outraged. Gabriel was shocked, but mostly concerned in looking Adrien up and down, to be sure he had nothing to do with it. Adalene on the other hand, couldn't help but to laugh. She liked to help Chloe along, she wanted kids to be kids. Much later she would pull Adrien out of photoshoots, building many arguments with Gabriel.

Chloe became free-spirited, and no longer felt trapped by her own mother, who had no motivation to try any harder on her daughter. As for André, he only enjoyed spoiling her, easily swayed by whatever she asked. Although,sometimes, her behavior made him want to send her to school and make friends with _normal_ citizens.

Chloe turned on her side and hugged the teddy bear, "When my mom died in an accident, it didn't feel real. And when I suddenly felt sad, I got angry with her. Why was she making me feel sad? I had no reason to miss her, we had no connection," she sniffled, "She could have fucking _stabbed_ me before she died, and I'd still be here… crying over her. Why?!" The emotional bias towards a family member was a curse Adrien didn't know, and had yet to understand.

"That's a little extreme, don't you think? But, maybe it's because you did have a connection. But it was just attached by such a thin line, that you didn't see it… what I'm trying to say is, maybe your mom just wasn't good at showing affection, but she's still a mother," Adrien leaned on the edge of the bed from his seat, inches away from Chloe.

"No offense, Adrien, but you can be a little naive sometimes," Chloe's laugh was heavy.

"I know, what I said wasn't very realistic. I just… have a bad habit of looking for answers, where there aren't any," Adrien traced the stitching on Chloe's comforter.

"It's optimism, at least," Chloe ruffled Adrien's hair. She remembered seeing his hair like this when he'd first wake up, but somehow it looked familiar in a different way.

"I didn't get it on my own," Adrien smiled.

Chloe smiled back, "Well, then you got it from your mom because I didn't get it on my own either," she went serious, "That's why then was the time I needed her the most."

Désirée had passed when Chloe was 9-years-old. Adalene made sure she, Chloe, and Adrien had spent quality time together after that. It wasn't anything new. After all with an oblivious mother and an unpresent father, it was nearly easier to make decisions for Chloe than for her own son.

Chloe was always following Adalene, sometimes secretly. When a child enjoys anyone's presence, they will indeed follow you. Sometimes, you don't notice you are being followed. And that is exactly why, Chloe saw something she wasn't supposed to. Miru the Peacock kwami, it turned out, was hovering next to Adalene. After an exchange of words, Adelene was transformed into none other than Cresta, the famous heroine. Adrien hardly remembers anything about the heroes Cresta and Cattleheart, because they were rarely in Paris, or in France even. But Chloe had met them, and had promised to keep it a secret. Now she had a hero to look up to, one who was her hero in and out of costume.

But then, "She disappeared. And I was left with no explanation as to why," a lie, Chloe knew very well that she'd disappeared while on another mission as Cresta, but she couldn't tell Adrien, "That's what broke me. You're a lot stronger than me, you kept going as you were, in some instances you made it seem like she was still here. You tried to enjoy things the way she taught you to enjoy things, even now you're doing that. You tried your best to go to school, like she always wanted you to, it's probably the only reason your dad finally gave in. But _me_ , I took a step back. I took several steps back. Something made me feel as though I had to listen to my mom again, now that no one was there to tell me otherwise. When my dad sent me to school, I wore my hair perfectly the way she'd put it, I acted classy and superior like she had wanted me to, and all that did was make me look like a snob at school. What was I supposed to do? My potential friend list was going down dramatically. My luck couldn't get any worse," Chloe made a large gesture, "And then this girl comes _waltzing_ in. She's clumsy, she's shy, and everything goes wrong for her. But you know what? She still smiled, and she was friends with _everyone_." And she was so damn friendly too, just like- no!

Adrien smiled slightly, then frowned, "...and, so, you took it out on her the most?"

Chloe rolled her eyes, "Yeah, she pissed me off the most," she smiled affectionately, "But when you texted me that you might start going to school, I was so excited. I finally had a friend at school. And a sexy one to show off at that."

Adrien raised an eyebrow, "But what about Sabrina. How'd you meet her?"

"Well at first, she was just the easiest, she was clueless. But then, she was really nice. And she was kind of funny. That's why I chose to give her your mom's brooch. _Sometimes_ , I felt comfortable being myself around her," Adalene had given Chloe a brooch, little before her disappearance, when Chloe had asked to be her sidekick.

Now that Cresta was gone, she had Ladybug, "Ladybug reminds me of your mom," Chloe heard herself say. Oh no, it had slipped.

"Me too," Adrien sighed, wearing a melancholy smile.

Chloe looked surprised, but she took it as an opportunity to change the subject, "So… this talk about you acting more freely like your mom, reminded me of something I wanted to ask you about. My dad got a phone call from your dad, he said you were missing, and then suddenly said 'nevermind' and hung up. Now, I don't want to jump to conclusions and say this had to do with Marinette, but… "

"It does, but not as in it's her fault, it's completely my fault. But, I just get lost and carefree when I'm with her. And, you're not the first person to say I'm changing. I'm sort of grounded right now because of all that, I won't go into detail, but I did come here with permission, somehow. It seems like people don't the way I'm changing," Adrien sat back up.

"Well fuck them. I like all this. I'll get back to you on the whole Marinette thing… but you know how long I've been trying to get you to loosen up?" Chloe sat up and slapped Adrien's arm.

Adrien chuckled, "Hey, I've even been eating a lot of sweets lately."

Chloe thought for a moment, then laughed loudly, "Ooooh, aren't you _bad_?!"

"The number one gangster, if I do say so myself," Adrien flicked his collar proudly, he got up, "Oh, and, Chloe?"

"Hmm?"

"Well, you seem like you'll be bored for a while. Next Sunday my dad's letting me off the hook, and Marinette, Alya, Nino and I going to Disneyland… if you wanna come?" Adrien grabbed his bag and walked up to Chloe, who noticed he was getting ready to leave and got up too.

Chloe snorted, "No, but thanks. I'd just be a 3rd wheel… or a 5th wheel."

Adrien rested the shoulder strap on his shoulder, "If you say so, but you should really give Marinette a chance. She's a good friend, and she's really sweet."

"Whatever, I'll think about it," Chloe hugged Adrien, she leaned back but didn't let go of his shoulders, "And _really_? A _week_? You're lucky your dad know nothing about discipline," Chloe spun Adrien around and smacked his ass. Adrien made a soft, and adorable, noise.

Chloe turned and went back towards her bathroom again, "Just leave already. I know who you're dying to see."

Hey, hope you guys liked this chapter! Please leave any reviews or comments, _I'm_ _all ears._ If you have any questions (because i tend to leave things a little confusing) don't hesitate, I have answers, whether it be about characters, scenes, or idk... something else. If you want you can ask here, or at eloctromagnetic on tumblr so that everyone else can see the question and answer.


	15. Ain't No Kitty Ride

Alright, guys! It's here! Just in time for Christmas, amirite? As promised, I'll be posting chapter 16 within less than a 5-day span, I'm shooting for Monday, cat's honor! Before I get to that one, I'm planning a Christmas short (most likely from this series) to post tomorrow. I really think you guys will like this one, it's a nice fluff chapter, and it was co-written by the lovely linh cinder! Go check her out she's got a lot of fics, including PJO and some Spideynova! You won't regret it, she's great 333

"Okay, so we'll go up Main Street and then cut through Aladdin's Passage – "

" – _Or,_ we can keep to the right and hit the bumper cars at Discoveryland – "

" – But if _that's_ crowded, we can just follow the path straight ahead to Belle's Castle – "

 _" –_ _Oooor,"_ Adrien interrupted, smile wide and polite despite the edge in his voice, "We can all just stop arguing over where to go and get on the nearest ride. Right, Nino?"

Nino, who had been hiding behind a huge map he'd pulled from the nearest kiosk, lowered the huge sheet of paper below his eyes and gave a small, sheepish grin. "Heh...yeah. I'm with him on this."

Marinette huffed while Alya readily agreed. "Yeah, sure. Let's ditch the plans for now." She excitedly looped her arm through Nino's, who blushed and nearly dropped his map. "Who cares about maps! We're here to have fun!"

"And get lost," Marinette muttered to a grinning Adrien as the other two took the lead. Alya glanced over her shoulder at that. Nino tried to keep his shoulders from shaking as he hid his laughter behind one hand.

"What was that?" asked Alya, blinking sweetly at them as she held a hand to her ear.

Marinette's hands were tucked safely behind her back in the blink of an eye. Adrien fought hard against the smirk that rose to his face as she mirrored Alya's look of innocence.

"Oh, _nothing."_

The day was warm and sunny, the perfect setting for a day at Disneyland. Apparently, many other city residents thought the same thing – the cobblestone common areas of the amusement park were teeming with tourists and Parisians alike. So far, as she glanced around the wide, heavily populated main entrance of the park, Marinette had counted exactly forty-two pairs of Mickey Mouse ears wading through the crowd in different directions. She was among them, too, having brought her own old souvenirs to wear from home. Alya, Adrien, and Nino claimed to not own any of their own, but she was sure they'd fit in with the crowd by the time noon rolled around.

The four of them approached the park's central plaza, a wide opening in the sun where the park's trolleys made their rounds on a circular track, and a few costumed cartoon characters milled around to take pictures. Marinette glanced around at the shaded shops lining the circle and was about to suggest they get their pictures taken at a cozy-looking booth when Adrien squealed, a sound she _definitely_ wasn't expecting from him.

"Oh my God!" he screeched at the top of his lungs, drawing his hands to his chest as he started to jump up and down like a little kid. He pointed past a small crowd of equally happy toddlers and sulking parents to a very fuzzy, very large costume worker. "That's Chip!"

"I thought it was Dale…" Nino muttered to a snickering Alya.

Adrien spun on him in record time, arms wide. "No no no! Chip has a black nose, but Dale has a red nose! And their fur colors are _totally_ different! Chip is _obviously_ darker, and...uh..." he began to trail off when he noticed the state his friends were in; they were all doubling over in laughter.

Adrien sighed, a glare replacing the smile that had previously been on his face. He huffed, not unlike Marinette had moments before. "Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers was a _great_ show, okay? Stop laughing at me."

Marinette was the first to regain her composure, but her sides still hurt with the wind of it all. Nino had died down too, and had the biggest, silliest grin on his face while Alya just kept on guffawing. When she was finally done after a few amused pats on the back from Nino, the three of them clamped their mouths shut, cheeks still pink. But then, before Adrien could breathe out a _Thank you,_ Marinette looked at Nino, Nino looked at Alya, and the next thing he knew, they all broke into laughter _again._

"Screw this!" exclaimed Adrien as he threw up his hands, cheeks flushed as other park-goers glanced their way. He stomped off in the direction of Chip – or Dale? – and filed in line behind a little boy who looked no more than the age of three. He crossed his arms with yet another huff, and swiveled around to face his friends with what he hoped was a menacing glare. Instead of looking guilty, they pointed fingers at him and kept on laughing. He felt betrayed. Even _Marinette_ reached up to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"Well, while you guys are too busy laughing, I'm going to get myself a nice, _quality_ picture with Chip!" he called back, mouth twisting into a satisfied smirk. After a little girl with a Minnie Mouse tutu was escorted from the front of the line by her parents, the little boy in front of him burst into tears. Adrien tapped his foot, impatient, as the little boy was rushed to Chip's side by two frowning women who he could all but guess were the child's parents.

"Hugo, sweetheart, look!" the taller of his two mothers put on a strained smile and beckoned a timid Chip closer to the sobbing toddler. "It's Chip! You love Chip! Give him a big smile, will you?"

Hugo stopped crying momentarily, his face streaked in fresh tears and glistening boogers. Chip knelt by his side, opened his arms for a wide hug, and Hugo burst into tears again, running to his other mom to bury his soaked face in her floral skirt. They looked at Chip with a look of apology as they tried their best to console their scared little boy. Adrien winced when the sound of his friends' laughter rose at the sight.

Just when he thought things couldn't get worse, one of the women trained their tired, blue eyes on him. "Excuse me, sir?"

Adrien stiffened. He could feel the gazes of Alya, Nino and especially Marinette on his back as he sputtered out, "Uh – um – yes?"

The woman ushered her son toward him, and Adrien felt uncomfortable when both mothers crowded his view of a very exasperated-looking Chip (if someone who was dressed in a forever-smiling chipmunk costume could look 'exasperated'). "Our son Hugo here sometimes gets nervous in large crowds like these. We wanted a picture of just him and Chip, but would you mind taking it with him? We've tried to take pictures with him before, but it never calms him down. Would that be alright?"

For a glorious moment, it sounded to Adrien as if his friends had finally ceased their laughter. He put on his most charming grin and gave them a nod, placing a hand on a wide-eyed Hugo's shoulder. "Sure thing, and no problem. I'd be happy to take a picture with him!"

Adrien shuffled the little boy toward Chip's side once again, and he felt his stomach drop as Hugo burst into tears again once he was faced with the large, smiling chipmunk. Adrien kept pushing him forward and gave what he hoped was a hopeful thumbs up to the boy's parents. Finally, the two of them were before Chip, who motioned for them to stand in front as one of the woman happily raised her camera.

Surprisingly, the little boy stopped crying as his mother readied her phone. Sure, he still had snot running down his face, but at least he wasn't sobbing anymore. Adrien crouched down to his side with a winning smile, and tried to ignore the others as they crowded behind the mothers.

"Wooo, looking good Adrien!" Alya called with a laugh. Behind her, Marinette and Nino snickered to themselves. Adrien tried his best to keep himself from rolling his eyes, and as the little boy sniffled at his side with tears trembling in his eyes, Adrien couldn't help but snort.

"You and me both, kid," he muttered under his breath. The next thing he knew, the woman's phone gave a loud sound resembling a camera shutter, and both she and her partner smiled wide. Hugo immediately darted away from Adrien's side and ran into his other mother's waiting arms.

"Thank you so much!" the other woman cried in gratitude, her pink and green floral skirt rippling in the gentle breeze. "Would you like to see the picture?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." He leaned over to peer at the screen of her phone, whose case had a Mickey Mouse logo on the front. Adrien gave a soft laugh at the photo. In it, Hugo looked a mess, while Adrien and Chip had matching, wide grins.

"Would you like me to send it to you?" she offered, and despite himself, Adrien found himself nodding. He whipped out his phone and exchanged a few more words with the couple. He then gave Chip a hug before dashing over to his friends.

The three of them gave a round of amused applause as he approached them, at which Adrien couldn't help but bow.

"Way to be a literal Disney prince, man." laughed Nino shortly before Adrien nudged him in the side. Adrien blushed when Marinette latched onto his arm, her smile wide as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

"That was sweet of you," she praised, and he felt the heat rise to his cheeks as he opened up his messages. She leaned farther into him, chuckling. "Did they send you the picture?"

"Yeah, they did actually." he pulled it up and held up his phone for all his friends to see. "I think I might frame this."

The four of them burst into laughter, together this time.

After a few more rounds of teasing at Adrien's expense, and a very silly few minutes of Alya calling him a "true Rescue Ranger", the four of them found themselves being herded with the crowd. The group rounded a wide corner leading to the left-most side of the park, shrouded in sunlight and laughter. The four of them chatted excitedly about everything and nothing, recalling their past experiences at Disneyland and favorite Disney shows before Alya cut herself short, her attention trained on the many rides surrounding them on every side. There was a carousel, a boat ride, and a small arena for shows, but none of them totally grabbed her attention - none of them, that is, until she saw a sign that marked the entrance of something called Rock n' Roller Coaster.

Alya stopped in her tracks. Her eyes sparkled, "Nino. That one. Now!"

Nino looked towards where Alya was pointing, an indoor ride, "Sure, why not?"

Finally, they were up. Alya dashed for the front car. Some employees came around and adjusted seatbelts, they asked Alya and Nino if they would like to hand over their glasses. It was an option given to avoid losing them on the ride, especially to those who didn't have straps. Upon removing his glasses, Nino looked concerned, but said nothing. It started off very gently, it brought them around a corner, and stopped suddenly.

"Wait…" Nino looked around nervously.

A screamo man's voice echoed through the speakers above them, he counted down.

Nino's eyes bulged, "Uh… I changed my mi-" the ride took off. They sped upwards, dropped, spiraled. The ride pushed them back in their seats, then it tossed them around. It felt as though their guts weren't where they were supposed to be anatomically. Alya laughed and cheered, while Nino screamed and prayed. He had never regretted something so much in his life.

"AM I UPSIDE DOWN!?" Nino screamed into the darkness ahead, with only bursts of colorful lights.

The cart slowed down and came to a stop. It was over. Thank _God_.

Alya put her cell in her pocket, she had managed to record in all that mess. Of course, she had then realized that the video caught only blurry lights, as it was far too dark for a cell phone camera. She took note to purchase a night vision lens for her phone.

Alya sighed deeply and satisfyingly, "So, where to next?" she jerked the map open.

"How about that carousel?" Nino pointed at the center of the map.

"Man up, Nino, I didn't come here to get on a carnival ride. We're getting on Space Mountain Mission 2!"

"What?! _Why_?" Nino slammed the palms of his hands into the sides of his head.

Without another word, Alya pulled Nino through the crowded walkways.

Nino wailed, resembling a spoiled child, "Why do you hate me, Alya?"

Alya huffed, "Nino, it's not that big of a deal. It's just an ordinary, fun ride, in a children's, cartoon themed park. There are kids lining up for this ride."

Nino grumbled. This sucked, he waited in line and wondered what Adrien was doing.

Adrien tugged on his collar until the first button was undone, " _Impossible."_

Marinette chuckled, "You should know better than anyone that I tend to do the impossible."

Adrien groaned, "It's different when it comes to something you've never done before. This is just insulting to all the efforts I've made."

"The difference between real life and a video game, is that you don't need to be skilled in any real way to win. Just like you don't need to be a gunman to play a FPS."

"And yet you're still gloating."

"Only because it's always fun to win, regardless of the circumstances." Marinette hopped off the elevated platform, "Wanna go play another game, or shall we go for another round of the sword fighting game?" she pointed back at the platform with a Pirates of The Caribbean themed VR sword game.

"I'll pass on both, thanks. What's the point? You already kicked my ass on half of the other games in here, let's just go to the bumper cars already."

"You sure are a sore loser," Marinette rolled her eyes, "Anyway, we should at least claim some sort of prize with the tickets we have. And you promised you'd win me something at the claw machine…"

Adrien smiled, "Oh, right, sure thing." Like the flick of a switch, Adrien's mood was brighter than a dance-dance-revolution game platform.

Adrien and Marinette waited behind the young boy using the claw machine. Adrien pointed at the counter below the controls, "That counter indicates how many times the claw machine game has been played without a win. If this boy wins, we probably won't. Lucky for us, the counter is at a high number, and if he loses, we've got a high chance of winning. But there's more to it than that…the rest of it is really a puzzle."

"You sure know a lot about these games, no wonder you say you win often." Marinette wrapped her arms around Adrien's waist from behind him.

Adrien put his hands in his jean pockets, "Actually, it's because of my mom. She took me to arcades a lot, she got me into gaming. My dad wasn't thrilled about me going out to the arcades anymore, that's when he got me my own arcade games."

The boy in front of them left empty handed, although Adrien felt sorry for him, he grinned as the bright lights from inside the machine reflected off of his eyes. Adrien tossed the coins up and caught them playfully. He slipped two tokens into the slot as though it was second nature. The "Credit" tracer above the timer went from zero to one. He gripped the joystick automatically, but didn't press start until he had carefully studied the prize pit, and replayed the previous boy's playthrough. The claw didn't seem weak, it didn't jiggle at the end, and it was 3-pronged. That meant the machine wasn't rigged, meaning the counter was only an indicator of skill. It was time to break the pattern.

Adrien's middle finger tapped lightly on the "start" button, "Watch and learn, Princess."

Adrien nudged the joystick in different directions swiftly, as though the movements were pre-programmed into his mind. His eyes were hooked on the plush toy that the claw hovered over. The timer was running low, but Adrien spent as much time adjusting and positioning the claw as possible. Finally, he pressed his thumb down on the button on top of the joystick.

The claw grabbed hold of a plush Donald Duck. It slid over nicely and dropped into the opening on the lower right side.

Marinette squealed in adoration, "I still can't believe you did it!" She hugged his arm as he bent over to retrieve the plush toy. The couple behind them was dumbfounded.

Adrien handed the prize to Marinette, "There you go, what'd I tell you?" Secretly he was relieved the odds had come out in his favor.

"Oh my God, Donald Duck! I love him so much, he's such a clumsy mess- like me." Marinette enthusiastically squeezed the living daylights out of Donald.

Adrien smiled smugly at his victory, then added, "And petty…" he walked away snickering under his breath.

Marinette followed close behind, "Yeah Donald is really pett- hey wait, shut up!"

Adrien snorted, "Kidding, let's go up and see what dumb dollar store crap we can get for these tickets."

Nino groaned all the way out the exit of Space Mountain Mission 2, party goer or not, rollercoasters terrified him. He thought maybe after all the time away from rides he'd be fine, but he'd still much rather be on steady ground.

"I can't believe I'm dating such a wuss." Alya whipped her braid around to her other shoulder.

"Um, _excuse me_ , you _aren't_ dating a wuss. You're dating someone who is very cautious and concerned for our safety." Nino scrolled through the contacts on his smartphone.

"Rollercoasters aren't dangerous, you're so paranoid."

"Don't you know how many accidents happen on these things? And malfunctions?!"

"It's extremely rare."

"It's _possible_."

"Like I said. _Paranoid_."

Nino squinted at Alya, then turned back to his phone, "Whatever."

Alya sniffed the air, "Hey, let's go grab a snack. I'm craving a funnel cake."

Nino held in a sigh of relief, "No problem!" He put his phone back into his pocket.

After ordering a funnel cake, Nino glanced over to another booth, "Do you want anything to drink? There's a slushy booth over there."

"Hmmm, no thanks." Alya impatiently stuffed her face with funnel cake while walking to a table.

Nino shrugged, then turned to wave at the employee inside the booth while approaching him.

Nino returned with a plastic cup of pastel colors swirling into each other. It looked like something that had come out of a unicorn. The condensation on the outside of the cup slowly melted in Nino's hands, dripping over his fingertips. Alya stared.

Nino took his phone out again, and typed lightly on the screen, putting the phone up to his ear. Alya licked her sticky, chocolate covered lips, making a small coughing noise through her parched throat.

Alya heard, but not really, a gentle voice answer the phone. Nino stirred the slushy, the thawed shaved ice making light noises, "Hey, Adrien! We're just chillin' now, whatcha guys been up to?"

Adrien's voice sounded slightly strained over the phone, "We're on the bumper cars right now- GODDAMNIT MARINETTE,"

Nino talked with the straw between his teeth, "You're on the phone while on the bumper cars?"

"Yeah, why? Is that weird? You called after all…"

"I know I did, but still, most people would've ignored it and waited till after the ride to call back. Is that even ok? With all that electricity, metal pole shit or whatever?"

"Eh, no big deal. Shit, Princess, that's not fair!" A distant cackling could be heard in the background, by said 'Princess', "Listen, can I call back? I have a little girl I need to teach a lesson to…"

"That's like, the cockiest thing I've ever heard you say, dude,"

"What can I say? I'm competitive… but she's been kickin' my ass all morning… anyway, catch you later-"

"Wait- you mean you guys haven't been on a single coaster yet?" Nino's voice faded slightly as he moved away from the phone, "Alya! You said you didn't want any!"

Adrien hummed in realization, "... I guess not…"

Nino returned to the phone, "YOU'D BETTER NOT LEAVE ME GETTING ON THESE THINGS ALONE, GET ON ONE RIGHT NOW."

"Um, ok, I guess… AHAHAHAHAHA GOTCHA! YES! TAKE THA- wait that's… no… the ride's over?!" Adrien sighed, "I gotta go… with the look on Marinette's face, there's no way I'm living this over." Before Nino could get anything in, the speaker clicked, there was a low hum until Nino hung up as well.

Nino turned Alya, who still had his slushy, "Is it just me or Adrien cursing a lot more and getting way more competitive?"

Alya moved her lower jaw forward, speaking through clenched teeth to keep her mouth full of slushy from spilling, "I think he's just getting more comfortable with us," she swallowed, "Although I wouldn't be surprised if we've had any influence on his vocabulary…"

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Nino scratched his head, secretly eyeing the ever shrinking slushy. She'd taken about a quarter of it before sliding it back to him.

"Just so you know," Nino shook the cup, "You owe me a new slushy."

Alya snapped a finger gun at him and glanced sideways. "I'll buy you a fresh cup... as soon as you get on that-"

"NO. MORE. _FUCKING_. ROLLER COASTERS."

"Well, what the hell are we supposed to do in an amusement park?!"

"Games, haunted houses..."

Alya groaned, "Fine. Let's go to a haunted house, screw those rigged games."

"Well that was anticlimactic," Alya crossed her arms at the exit of Phantom Manor.

"This is coming from a girl who was held hostage by an ancient Egyptian mummy villain who was ready to give her as a sacrifice to a god, and not even phased. All you did was pull out your phone to take goddamned selfies with him," Nino stuffed his hands into his pockets, giving Alya an "am-I-right" look.

"I mean... I guess it was cute, it had a nice little creepiness to it. Alright, it was fun."

"You didn't really expect to get a good scare from a Disneyland ride, did you?"

"Good point..."

Nino took a look at his phone's lock screen. "Hey, it's past 6 o'clock, do you want to see the parade at 7?"

"Wow, it's that time already? We've been here that long?"

"Yeah, it's pretty bright out, isn't it? The sun doesn't set for like, another 3-4 hours. Well?"

"Nah, let's go play those dumb games."

Nino laughed, "Ok, you'll win me something, right? I never got that slushy."

"Oh, _god_." Alya started walking ahead. Nino followed closely behind, eventually catching up to take her hand... as casually as possible, of course. Alya held in a flattered snort.

While walking down the pathways of the park - and rejecting the majority of Nino's choices for a game to play - Alya's eyes lit up as she pointed in front of her.

"Nino! It's our kids!"

Nino followed Alya's finger, indicating Marinette and Adrien in the distance. "I wasn't aware we were their parents…"

"Of course we're their parents, they're way to smol and precious to be independent," Alya fake sniffled, "They're growing up so fast."

Nino raised an amused eyebrow, "And you know what else?"

"What?" Alya answered, still staring ahead.

"Looks like Marinette just won Adrien a plush on that high striker - damn, I didn't know she had that kind of strength - but _somebody_ has been rejecting all of the games and hasn't won _me_ anything."

"Ok, look, I wasn't gonna play that game with the baskets. The balls _never_ stay inside-"

"Maybe you throw too hard."

Alya glared at Nino, "...anyway, how about I go play that skee ball over there?"

"Putting that great throwing arm to good use, I see."

"Do you want a prize or not?" Alya stretched the collar of Nino's shirt and yanked him down to her eye level.

"It's not whether I want one or not, it's about how you owe me one." Nino carefully plucked Alya's hand from his shirt and stood up.

"Whatever," Alya marched over to the skee ball game.

She started off with a nice roll, it launched upwards at the end of the lane and-

Nino sighed, "...10 points…"

"SHUT UP."

Nino hid a playful grin behind his hand.

Alya tried again. "Fuck." Third time's the charm? "... _fuck."_

Ok… that was just a warm-up, this time for sure, "Ugggh I swear to- I can _do_ this."

Nino stayed quiet.

Alya shot her fist into the air, "40! Finally! Let's make this last one count!" She rolled the ball… "DAMMIT! ITS-"

"Is this one rigged too, Alya?" Nino asked sarcastically, immediately regretting saying anything upon seeing Alya's face, "Please don't kill me."

Alya puffed, "I won't, only because you're cute."

Nino coughed, "Uh… let's go meet up with Marinette and Adrien…"

"Ok," Alya smiled.

Nino glanced around and spotted Adrien again, his hair was hard to miss. Marinette was playing at a ring toss. "There they are, a little closer this time, looks like they were coming down this way anyway."

Alya waved, "Adrien! Marinette! Over here!-" she stopped and gasped, "Woah, she won another one. Marinette is _badass_."

Alya and Nino walked until they were only a few feet away. Nino shook his finger at Marinette in amazement. "Bro, Marinette, you are on fire!"

Marinette blinked shyly, "H-huh?"

" _Woah,_ dude, what? Did we suck all of the confidence out of you or something? You can only win if it's only _your man_ watching?" Nino put his arm around Marinette, who was staring stupidly.

Adrien stuttered, "H-her man?"

Alya pretended to ignore Adrien's overwhelmed expression, taking a discreet photo of the scene on her phone. Success. Definitely saving that one. Alya cleared her throat, "Yeah, how do you do it, Marinette?"

"Um…" Marinette shrugged, "I just, do my best."

Alya nodded knowingly, "Well, you did your best a lot then… look at all of those prizes you two got. I couldn't even get _one_."

Adrien leaned forward towards Alya. "We can win you one if you want…"

"No, it's fine, I just wanna know the story behind all of these."

Marinette lifted the plush Donald Duck and Pascal, "Adrien won these at the claw machine and basketball shot game."

Adrien revealed a small plush Mittens from under his arm, and raised a plush Bagheera, "Marinette won these at the high striker and the water gun bullseye game," Adrien turned to the table behind him and lifted a plush Squirt. "Here, you guys can have this one, really. She just won it at the ring toss."

Alya tried to refuse, but Marinette insisted, "Seriously, go head. We're just playing for fun."

Alya and Nino stared at the plush sea turtle. Alya smiled up at Nino, "Go ahead, you have it."

Nino took it hesitantly, "Uh.. thanks, man."

Alya looked at the remaining plushes in Adrien's arms, "So you like cats, Adrien?"

Adrien turned bright red, and for some reason, Marinette started freaking out.

"Actually, I'm the one who picked them out for him… I-" Marinette stole a teasing glance at Adrien, " _Love_ cats. Especially _black_ cats. They're the cutest." Adrien seemed strangely embarrassed.

Alya smirked, "Don't tell me you're cheating on Adrien with Chat Noir?"

Marinette's eyes bulged, as did Adrien's. Both of them started talking at once, then Marinette let Adrien continue.

"How about, we get on more rides and stuff together as a group, and at 11 we can all go to see Disney Dreams?"

Nino made a concerned face. Alya rolled her eyes, "It doesn't have to be a 'mean' ride, Nino…"

"Alright, fine," Nino stopped upon realization, "Oh yeah, by the way, Adrien, did you get on some coasters? Did you get on that ride - what was it - Rock N' Roller Coaster?"

Adrien and Marinette grinned together, Marinette answered, "Actually, yeah, we did get on that one."

Nino peaked at Alya as he asked, "What'd you guys think?"

"It was pretty…" Marinette pouted her lips as if to really think about her answer.

"Fun." Adrien nodded, looking unexcited.

Nino blinked, "It didn't even _kinda_ give you a scare?"

Adrien looked confused, he shrugged, "No…?"

Marinette thought about whether or not she was even thrilled on the ride, "It wasn't scary, it was…" she tilted her hand back in forth in a so-so manner, "meh.."

Alya smirked proudly. She had known what Nino was trying to do, and it had failed. Nino was a big baby, case closed.

Nino stuffed his hands in his pockets and started walking ahead of the group. "Let's just go get on some rides already."

It was finally 10:59! An hour from closing time. There was a large crowd standing in front of the Cinderella Castle. The four friends stood in a perfect spot, talking excitedly about the day, before the show started. They chattered amongst themselves, sometimes all together, sometimes just a conversation between Alya and Marinette, and Adrien and Nino, other times between Adrien and Marinette, and Alya and Nino. Either way, they were mingling.

Marinette giggled, "I knew you were a dork, Adrien, but I didn't know you were _that_ much of a dork. It really caught me by surprise."

"No kidding," Adrien grumbled, "Even _you_ were laughing at me, thanks _a lot_."

Marinette knew Adrien wasn't entirely serious in his anger, but still felt guilty, "Aw, I'm sorry. I wasn't laughing because it was pathetic, I was laughing because it was cute! I'm sure we all were."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better? - I mean I know I'm cute -" Adrien flashed a big smile, "But you'd think a guy could take a picture _with a Disney character_ in _DISNEY_ LAND." His voice came out a little sharper than intended.

"Yeah, that's true, you're right…"

"I mean, c'mon, I can't remember the last time I came here. I was probably really small, and it was with my mom. I sure as hell was not about to come here with Nathalie, and I think we all know my dad wasn't ever going to take me. I should be allowed to feel excited when I think about my childhood, as rare as it is."

"... I hadn't thought about that,"

"You're the one who said I could be myself, and should be able to without question from my friends." Now he was just whining.

"I know, Cupcake," Marinette leaned to kiss Adrien on the cheek, but he leaned away.

"What makes you think you can kiss me after calling me _that_? I told you I didn't like it-"

"I know, I know... What if I shortened your nickname to CC?"

"What is that?" Carbon Copy?!

"Cute Cupcake…"

Adrien made a face.

"Well I would've made it Adorable Cupcake, but that would've been AC.. that's an air conditioner."

"I don't want a nickname that has to with a pastry anyway…"

"What about Smart Cookie…. No? Just Cookie?"

Adrien shook his head.

Marinette bit her lip in distress, then she made a sly face.

Marinette got closer to Adrien's ear and whispered, seductively in Adrien's opinion, "Kitty..."

From the bright red look on Adrien's face, Marinette assumed it was safe to kiss him now.

Alya shook Nino back and forth by the arm, "I'm so excited! I love Disney Dreams! I watch it everytime I come here!"

Nino tried pulling Alya off, "Yeah, yeah, alright, alright. Could you cut it out before I pass out?"

"Wow, no wonder you can't take roller coasters."

"What?!"

" _Weak_ ," Alya poked Nino's side.

"I'm not-"

" _WEAK!_ " she kept poking him, with her sharp nails.

"This is abuse, I don't know if I can survive a relationship with you."

"Rude!" Alya wrapped her arms around Nino's neck, "You love me and you know it!"

"Yeah, I do." Nino smiled gently, he kissed the top of Alya's head.

Before Alya could find her voice, some bright colorful lights had begun gleaming in front of them.

The four of them watched in awe as the fountains danced, the memorable and sentimental song played, and the hypnotic holograms captured them in the illusion of Disney magic and purity.

The fireworks started, Adrien and Marinette rested their heads on each other and held hands, not even noticing when Alya jumped into Nino's arms, and kissed him.


	16. A Cute Couple - of Dorks

This is more like half of a chapter, but I was running out of time, and I didn't want to go past the 6 day mark. What even is time? Anyway, goes to show why you shouldn't claim "cat's honor" without first wearing your cat ears.

So I guess, this is all just, fluff? I don't know what this is... it's something. Please tell me what you think! I didn't look this over for mistakes at all, so please. I need comments, I need reviews, I need questions... anything!

* * *

Chat Noir's boots squeaked as he crouched, landing on the tips of his toes. He grinned, remembering the last time he had been on Marinette's roof. He walked over to the trapdoor, lowering his school bag from his shoulder. Summer vacation had gone by a lot quicker this year. Although Adrien's "vacations" were packed with activities and lessons, all the time spent with Marinette seemed to lift the load away. Even after Gabriel released Adrien from being grounded, Ladybug still visited frequently.

Chat Noir decided he would come over to visit Marinette instead. Although, much like Ladybug's, Chat's visits went unannounced. He made the mistake of getting too comfortable, and forgot to knock. He lifted the door, dipping his head into the doorway to greet her. He opened his mouth to call out to her, then stopped suddenly.

Marinette was facing away from him, tugging on the elastic waistband band of her pj pants. Her head cocked sideways as she pulled her bun out. Her hair was lightly humid at the ends from being under a drenched shower cap. She picked up her shirt and lifted it above her bare back, carefully pulling it down over her head. Tikki hovered next to her, chittering quietly. Her eyes shifted and widened upon noticing Chat Noir.

Chat's face was redder than the lipstick Marinette had worn to the dinner party Gabriel had invited her to the other night. His face was strained and twisted like he was about to sneeze. He quickly leaned away from the doorway, scooting backward urgently. He turned to make an escape,

"Hang on there, you no good cat!"

Chat Noir flinched, hesitantly turning to look back at Marinette. He struggled to dodge and back away as Marinette lunged towards him. He kicked and screamed gibberish in his nervous rush as she grabbed his ankles and dragged him over to the door's border.

Marinette let go briefly, Chat looked up at her pleadingly, "Princess- Marinette… honest, I didn't mean to- please don't be mad!"

Marinette went behind Chat, shoved him into the opening of the door, and followed close after.

Chat climbed down the stairs in a hurry, forming a temporary distance between himself and Marinette. He seated himself on the farthest side of the chaise, cradling his tail shyly, as Marinette descended the stairs carefully and slowly.

Despite Chat's powerful advantage, Marinette's slow descension and somber demeanor were intimidating.

Marinette inhaled sharply through her nose, crossing her arms over her chest. For what seemed like hours, over the course of a few seconds, she stood directly in front of Chat but made no eye contact. She closed her eyes, she opened them. She stared at her distorted reflection in the metal tips of Chat's shoes. His toes were pointed inward, only the tips of his shoes touched the floor. A rather submissive and withdrawn position, though his mind was over obsessing about his current situation.

"Ok- HAVE YOU HEARD OF KNOCKING?" Marinette tapped her temple repeatedly with her index finger.

"I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking!" Chat stretched his arms out.

"Clearly."

"Geez…"

Marinette studied Chat's strained expression. She sighed, "Whatever, I'm glad you're here. I wanted your help on something."

Thank God. "Sure, what do you need?"

Marinette turned to her bookbag next to her desk. "Did you get number two for the calculus homework? I literally got everything except that, I'm super frustrated."

"Oh, that! Yeah, I finished that before I got here- but I might remember the question, that was the one on instantaneous and average velocity right?"

"...Yes," Marinette burned holes into the side of Chat Noir's head with her stare, "Also, shut up- with that stupid tone of yours- don't you dare think you're _so_ much smarter than me. You bastard."

Chat whipped his head around, giving her large puppy eyes - or kitten eyes - raising his hands in his defense, "Wait, _no_ , that's not what I'm- damn, when can I catch a break? You seem a little edgy today, like that time a few weeks ago when- _oh_ …"

Marinette sat down on the floor in front of Chat, pulling out a printed sheet of paper and a graphing calculator. She looked up suddenly, as though she had only just processed Chat's words, "What do you mean, ' _oh_ '?"

Chat tilted his head, "I'm sorry, Princess. Hey, do you need anything? A pain-reliever… chocolate….. _someone to cuddle with_..."

Marinette's face softened, "I can do without the pain killer, thanks… but the chocolate and cuddling part sound nice. Right after you help me finish this homework."

Chat nodded, "Of course, what part did you need help with?"

"I've got the average velocity, that part was easy, but I have no idea how to apply that to instantaneous velocity."

"Remind me how the problem went again?"

"Um…" She squinted at the sheet of paper, secretly still trying to figure out the problem for herself, "Well, v(t) is 3t2-2t-1… we're supposed to find the values of t on 0 ≤ t ≤ 3 where the instantaneous velocity is the same as the average velocity on [0,3]. The average velocity is just the integral of v(t) times 1/(b-a) so I used (x(b)-x(a))/(b-a) and got 5. So…. now what?"

Chat lied down across the chaise.

Marinette shot a look at Chat Noir, "What are you doing?! Don't lay down, that's not _helping_."

"Don't worry, I'm still helping. It's just it's pretty much impossible not to lay down on this thing. Anyway, instantaneous velocity is just setting the equation for velocity equal to the average velocity, then set that equal to zero," Chat stretched with a yawn, spouting that shit like second nature. Nerd.

"I did that already! It just won't factor!" Marinette pulled violently on her hair.

Chat smiled, he could relate, just a few hours ago he was in the same predicament, "Yup. You'll have to go back to the Algebra 2 days… remember the quadratic formula?"

Marinette stared blankly in front of her as though she wanted to jump out of the window.

Chat propped himself up on his elbow, "Don't remember it? -b-"

"No, I remember it. I just. Can't right now. Like, _stop_. _NO_." She covered her face with her hands.

"I know-"

" _Why_."

"I understand, I was pretty pissed too once I'd figured it out after what felt like an eternity." Chat crossed his arms behind his head.

"Ok, I got 1.786, and -1.1196… there shouldn't be a negative because of the interval, so, 1.786?"

"Yeah."

"Thank _God_."

"So… you're done?" Chat sat up.

"Mhmm, wanna lay down somewhere more comfortable?" Marinette pointed behind her with her thumb.

Chat winked, "I'd love to," he stood up, "But didn't you say you wanted chocolate? I could go get some for you."

"Nah, besides there's some downstairs in the bakery _and_ in my kitchen," Marinette stared at the trap door, "But who wants to go all the way down there?"

Chat shrugged, "I could go."

Marinette shook her head with a chuckle. "You don't know where to find anything."

"So tell me then."

"You don't need to go-"

"You obviously really want some."

"Of you, yes…" Marinette muttered.

"What was that?" Chat raised an eyebrow.

"Do what you want, I'm going to bed," Marinette climbed the stairs to her bed.

Chat followed, "Alright."

Marinette snuggled underneath her covers. Chat slid in beside her and she draped herself onto his chest, her head at his neck.

Chat's bell jingled as Marinette wrapped her arms more tightly around his neck.

"Chat?"

"Hmm?"

"I'd like to request Adrien Agreste, your bell isn't very comfortable."

Chat smirked, "Then why don't you just unzip the zipper?"

"Get over yourself."

"Aw… but I feel so much sexier in this suit!"

"Well, then you can be sexy on the floor."

"Fine. Plagg-"

"Before you go-" Marinette grabbed Chat's face and pressed a kiss on him, "You make a good point, there's something to Chat Noir that makes you more irresistible."

"Catsuits have given sexual vibes since the beginning of time, didn't you know?"

"... on the right person, that is."

Chat detransformed.

"There he is," Marinette looked at Adrien fondly.

"Better?" Adrien cuddled closer to Marinette.

"Much," Marinette slipped Adrien's overshirt off of his shoulder, "Isn't it comfier for you too?"

Adrien sat up and pulled the rest of the overshirt off, threw his shoes on the ground, then lied back down. "Yeah, I guess it is."

Marinette rubbed her hand under the collar of Adrien's shirt on his chest and shoulder. "Sorry if I came off a little bitchy today."

"It's fine, I wasn't really helping either."

"Promise you won't set things even with me tomorrow morning?" Marinette gave a crooked smile.

"Why would I try and get even- wait a minute, are we _still_ talking about this?" Adrien leaned over Marinette.

Marinette turned over, "Goodnight, Adrien."

"Wait, wake up! I wanna talk to you!" Adrien sat up to peek over Marinette's shoulder.

"I can't hear you, I'm too busy sleeping," Marinette mumbled.

"No you're not, that's not even how you normally sleep," Adrien laughed, he was feeling a little playful, as most cats do late at night. It was time to do what Chloe used to do to him to get him to wake up.

Adrien pulled the sheets off of Marinette.

Marinette flipped back onto her back, "Stop!" she whined.

Adrien grabbed Marinette's ankles, "Just gonna have to drag the sleepiness out of you," he pulled on her legs and she slid down closer to him, her shirt rolled up to her chest from the force.

Adrien's gasp sounded more amused than embarrassed and apologetic, "I'm so sorry!"

Marinette didn't have the energy to freak out, instead she teased, "Sure you are, that's why you're staring so much."

Adrien looked offended, eyes glued to the cloth bunched up just below her breasts. If he had dragged her just a little bit farther, it would've been just enough to reveal her - chest… area - and he'd have been dead meat most likely. He lucked out. "I am not _staring_."

"Yeah?" Marinette started to slowly lift the fabric. A small glimpse and a childish scream later, Marinette lowered her shirt down to her hips.

"That's what I thought," she said, rolling back on her side, wrapping the blanket back around her.

Adrien, who was still covering his red face, made apologetic noises. He stayed silent as he turned the lights out, and lied down. Adrien noticed how unpleasant it was to sleep in a pair of jeans - which he normally did, and usually removed them - only this time he had just finished an awkward interaction with Marinette, and couldn't decide whether he should. Last time he was in that bed, he at least had a pair of sweatpants. This time, it was just him and his underwear… next to Marinette. To make matters worse, he was wearing briefs, not boxers - which would have been a lot less awkward, being similar to shorts and all - but you couldn't wear skinny jeans with boxers, now could you? Then again, not like it was very different from his Chat Noir suit, and all those times he was right up against Ladybug… screw it. Just do it, he and Marinette were close - both literally and figuratively - and it's not like they were that many years away from being even closer. Not that he'd thought about it or anything. But he just couldn't wait to slide that ring on her finger. He even had a picture saved of the perfect ring.

Adrien flung his jeans over the bars of the bed frame. He'd be leaving early in the morning anyway, so he didn't have to hide.

Though Adrien had fallen asleep face down the way he normally did, he woke up and found himself sleeping on his side. His arm was wrapped around Marinette's waist and his leg was tangled in hers. He blushed, but wondered how he was going to slip away without waking her.

He carefully lifted his arm away and lifted Marinette's leg by the cloth of the pants. He returned his leg to his side, then gently lowered Marinette's back into place. He put his jeans and overshirt on, and climbed down quietly to take his shoes from the ground and put them on. Adrien called out to Plagg in a whisper, who came out from where he and Tikki had been, and told him to transform him as quietly as he'd ever done.

Chat Noir looked up at the darks sky through the window above Marinette's bed. He lifted the trapdoor but stopped as he realized he'd never seen Marinette sleeping before. She'd always been awake before him.

Chat listened to her soft breaths. He brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek and kissed her eyelashes.

When he left and reached the edge of Marinette's roof, he felt a familiar tug on his tail. He turned and saw a groggy Marinette wrapped in blankets.

Chat wrapped his arms around Marinette. "You should've stayed in bed," he said softly. He kissed her good-bye, "Go back to sleep."

Chat spun a very disoriented Marinette around, gave her a light pat on her backside, watched her mumble her way back down to her bed, and left.

* * *

 **I wonder how many necks I got with this chapter.**


	17. Ironspy

**Oh man, I'm so sorry this took so long! And to think I had to cut the chapter again just to post this! I just keep going into these holes of depression - not real depression, just over this story. Sometimes I feel like the story isn't good enough, and I can't help but think about the mistakes. But remembering the nice comments keeps me going, and this chapter - as well as the rest of it that is coming up - helped me feel better too because I really enjoyed writing it. It would really help if I could get feedback, honestly anything. I need to hear what people think for encouragement, and I'd especially love questions about story details, like something you wondered why it did or didn't happen or what happened that wasn't mentioned. It'll help me recall the plot as a whole which could get the ball rolling a lot quicker.**

"You noticed?!" Adrien choked on his fruit water, setting his infusion water bottle down on his desk.

"How could I not? You didn't necessarily keep your distance from me, you know," Marinette tilted the bottle and watched the chunks of peaches and oranges float along, bobbing up and down with the swaying water.

"It wasn't on purpose! I just woke up like that… anyway, I thought you were asleep."

"I _was_ for the most part. But it's not an extraordinary thing that I would wake up. Don't worry, I didn't really mind it. I was too tired to anyway, and it's not like I'm foreign to being pressed up against a guy in tight clothing."

"Funny… I was thinking along the same lines. Although, I was just looking for an excuse. I couldn't sleep, I was sick of wearing those jeans. I needed to get out of them no matter what."

"Guess it's a good thing you don't go commando, huh?" Marinette winked, immediately spacing out and wincing inside her head at the thought.

Before Adrien could recover from his bright red face, Ms. Mendeleiev called his and Marinette's name.

"Ever since you two changed seats to sit next to each other it's been nothing but flirty chatter. You're lucky I let you sit together. Now, if you're done interrupting my class with your cute little date, would you mind telling me what I just said?" Ms. Mendeleiev walked forward and leaned on Adrien and Marinette's desk.

Chloe snorted, "Ooooooh," she smiled at Adrien and mouthed, _you're in trouble_. Adrien shot an annoyed smile at her, but knew she was teasing.

Adrien thought for a moment, stealing a quick glance at the board and Nino's tablet in front of him. "You said-"

"Oh no, Adrien, I'm already well aware that you're good at listening while distracted or figuring things out. Maybe _you_ can do fine without listening, but I'd like to hear it from Marinette."

Marinette's shoulders stiffened. She was always the type to commit her focus to one thing at a time. She could only multitask if it was within things of interest. Like sewing while singing the lyrics to Soap perfectly, or baking while reenacting her most recent favorite Ladybug Takedown™. Recalling something said in class, however, was entirely different - and in a sense impossible.

"U-um…" She cringed in Adrien's direction, who tried mouthing the answer to her.

She made out most of the words but spent most of the time admiring Adrien's lips. "9.8 is… the constant for… go make babies?" Adrien pinched the bridge of his nose.

" _Incorrect_ ," Ms. Mendeleiev drummed her fingers against the desk, "I'll be talking to you after class during lunch break."

"Yes, Madame Mendeleiev," Marinette ducked her head sheepishly.

Ms. Mendeleiev eyed Marinette as she turned slowly to walk back to the front of the room. As she proceeded to teach, Adrien turned to Marinette wide-eyed.

" _Go make babies -_ No! I said 'earth's gravity' - _what the hell?!_ " He whispered.

Marinette shrugged awkwardly, "I guess you only see what you want to see?"

Adrien froze, quickly turning back to his tablet to _actually take notes_. They stayed quiet for the remainder of class.

At the end of class, Ms. Mendeleiev shouted at the shuffling students, "A new student is supposed to be coming in by the time classes start up again after the lunch break. Please be sure to talk to her, I don't want to hear that she felt unwelcomed!"

After the classroom emptied, Marinette made a sideways shuffle towards Ms. Mendeleiv's desk. "H-hi, Madame Mendeleiev…"

"Yes, Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, please have a seat in this stool."

Adrien stood next to the door, "Madame Mendeleiev, maybe I should stay- it's my fault after all-"

"That won't be necessary, Adrien, I know from past experiences with Marinette that this is her doing. She's known for her outbursts and interruptions. You can wait for her outside."

Adrien gave a very tense Marinette a sympathetic look and shut the door behind him.

Ms. Mendeleiev cleared her throat. "Last year you often came in late, made the occasional outburst, and would ask to go to the restroom a _lot_. I also noticed that you would ask immediately after Adrien asked to go…"

Uh oh.

" _Now_ , you come into class together - whether late or not - sit together ,and you've dragged Adrien into your bad habit of being disruptive."

 _Well_. _Ouch_.

"That being said, I can now safely assume the two of you are not going to the bathroom when you say you are."

 _...What?_ _ **No**_ … _._ what would _ever_ give you _that_ idea?!

"It's become such a routine, it wouldn't be too hard to look through the hallway security cameras and find out what's really going on…"

Shit.

"But, I happen to be fond of you, Marinette."

What. Where? When was this?

"So I won't be requesting to check the security cameras, because I expect you wouldn't do such things so I shouldn't have to. At least, I should hope you aren't doing those things."

Wait wait wait… what things? Marinette leaned forward. "Oh no! I really do go to the restroom- it's all a coincidence, really!"

"Alright. However, I have a condition for letting my suspicions slide as well as letting you continue to sit next to Adrien. I'd better see an 'A' on tomorrow's test; and I want to see quiet, responsible note-taking from now on."

Test?! "Yes, Madame Mendeleiev."

Ms. Mendeleiev nodded and gestured for Marinette to leave as she turned back to squinting through her lowered glasses at her laptop.

Marinette glanced around the school lobby. While looking for Adrien, she found Alya. "What's all this about?" She swept her hand in front of her at the commotion.

"The new student. Apparently she's this famous girl named Lila Rossi. Oh, and get this! She met Ladybug and they're close friends now!"

Is that a fact? "Ohh.." Marinette tried to sound interested, "Well, have you seen Adrien?"

"Oh yeah, you should know - I was gonna do something about it… eventually - Lila totally looked at him all googly-eyed, bounced right on over to him, and totally cornered him into the library," Alya held in a snort as she saw Marinette's face scrunch together, eyes bulging.

"AND YOU WERE ONLY _JUST_ GETTING READY TO DO SOMETHING?!" Marinette drover her fingers through her bangs, pacing anxiously back and forth.

"Relax girl, there's only so much you can do with a guy in a library…" Alya rolled her eyes, "Depending on how empty it is and how long you have."

Marinette made a sound that should've been humanly impossible, and ran towards the stairs below the library. Alya cackled - all too laid back in Marinette's opinion - behind her.

Before bursting through the doors like some sort of detective in a mystery movie, Marinette got curious, and decided a more secretive approach would be better. She crouched low and ran to kneel behind a bookshelf, peering through some of the shorter books at the table where Adrien and 'Lila' sat. Lila scooted her chair closer to Adrien. This day couldn't get any worse.

Lila flicked her wrist back. "Oh, I love superheroes!" Sounded like bullshit.

Tikki stared at the book Adrien was reading. "Marinette, that book! It's important. We need to talk to him about that."

Marinette peeked at Tikki curiously and nodded. Marinette heard Adrien speak up.

"O-oh, really? Like Ladybug?" Adrien glanced down to pull out his phone and started tapping away. Marinette immediately took out her own phone, and saw that Adrien was shown as 'typing…' in their message box.

"Oh… yeah! Ladybug!" Lila's smile was faker than her chest size. Or so Marinette hoped her chest size was fake- after all she already had the pretty face and slim body, and… and the hips- she just couldn't _possibly_ have it all. Of course if she did, it would explain her ugly personality and that hideous laugh, and-

Adrien looked up from his phone and smiled in a daze, the 'typing…' indicator disappeared. "She's so great, smart, and... beautiful." Marinette did her best not to squeal, but did no such thing to keep from smiling ear-to-ear.

"What? Do you have a thing for Ladybug?!" Lila's voice seemed a little demeaning.

"Well, you could say that, yeah."

Marinette could see Lila's foot scooting up against Adrien's. She didn't hesitate to throw a book across the room as a diversion and crawl underneath the table.

Lila turned back around, away from the book that had just collapsed on the ground. She thought it must have fallen. "But, you know, there's plenty of great girls out there who aren't superheroes. It's a little unrealistic and unstable to set your eyes on Ladybug, for all you know someone just as _enchanting_ could be right-" Lila put her hand on Adrien's, making him look at her, "-In front of you."

Why that little…

"Of course, I mean she's not right in front of me but, there's this girl- Marinette… she-"

"Then again! Luckily for you, I'm close friends with Ladybug. I could totally tell you all about her and maybe hint at your name when I see her again."

"I-"

"We'd have to go somewhere more private. How about the park?"

 _That_ was privacy?

"...Look, I have to go. I have fencing." Adrien got up to leave.

Lila 'accidentally' knocked over Adrien's bag, spilling it's contents, as well as the book, all over the floor. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry!"

Marinette watched Lila's foot slide forward and drag Adrien's book backward near her own bag. When she lifted her foot off of the cover, Marinette quickly snatched the book away.

Adrien raised his hands forgivingly. "No, don't worry about it."

Marinette looked at Adrien's bag, laying right next to her.

Adrien bent over to pick up his things, "I don't think I can make it to the park. We'll have to talk later-" He stopped as two hands beneath the table caught his eye. One holding his bag open, the other sliding something into it. The peeling cuticles and nails filed short - to keep her nail biting habits a secret - were unmistakable. "Marinette?"

The two hands tensed up. Marinette slowly peeked from underneath the table. "Hi, Adrien," she smiled shyly.

As Marinette crawled out and stood up, Lila raised an unimpressed eyebrow. " _This_ is the famous 'Marinette'?"

Adrien put his arm around Marinette's shoulders. "Yeah, isn't she adorable? You were right with what you said about Ladybug… it's important to notice the people who are really close to you, and that's why I made Marinette my girlfriend." He smiled brightly, though he itched to question her thoroughly about being under the table. Marinette batted her eyelashes at him and smiled sweetly, seeing how his eyes were like daggers.

Lila scoffed, "You made her _official?_ "

Adrien turned his daggers to Lila. " _Yes_. And I'd appreciate it if you didn't use that tone."

"But-" Lila licked her lips, unwilling to admit defeat, "What about Ladybug? I told you I could-"

Adrien shrugged, "Oh, you know, typical celebrity crush."

Marinette had the audacity to join in, "I'm sure you're quite familiar with those? _Shallow_ celebrity crushes, that is."

Lila snarled, then put on her fake smile, "Naturally, people crush on me all the time."

Marinette returned the smile, "You probably want nothing to do with them I'll bet?"

"Well, I certainly don't want anything to do with _you_ ," Lila turned back to Adrien, "You can do better than this, Adrien. You're crush on Ladybug could be more than a celebrity crush through me-"

"Ha," Marinette crossed her arms, "You don't even know her, you liar. Why don't you show me your _besties_ phone number? You-"

"I'm _sure_ you'd love to have it," Lila spat.

"I already _have_ it."

"So call her then..."

"Don't tell me your bestie didn't give you her number?! The shock! But, sure thing let me ring her up for you-" Marinette pretended to dial a number on her phone, starting to lift it up to her ear in a fist, but stopping short to slap her bicep.*

"Marinette!" Adrien scolded, grabbing Marinette's flexed arm to force it back down.

"You know what? Jokes on you. He doesn't need you _or_ Ladybug. I happen to know a heroine _way_ more desirable than _Ladybug_. And I wouldn't have any problem hooking her up with you, Adrien."

"And who might that be?" Marinette tried to step closer to Lila, but Adrien had a firm grip on her wrist, pulling her back.

Lila flipped her hair proudly. "Me."

Marinette's anger subsided. She stared at Lila, bewildered, then began to laugh uncontrollably. It wasn't a forced, or even sarcastic laugh. It was a true belly laugh, to the point that she had to throw her head back as she ran out of breath.

" _That's_ _ **enough**_ _, Marinette,_ " Adrien whispered harshly.

Lila just growled and breezed past them, ramming through the library doors.

Adrien sighed, turning to face Marinette. "What a show."

"Pfft, you're telling me."

"I was talking about you," Adrien put his hands on his hips.

"Me?! She started it!"

"Hardly."

"And what about you?! You let her get all flirty and touchy-feely," Marinette mocked Lila by rubbing her hands all over Adrien's hand.

Adrien took his hand away, "I wasn't _letting_ her do anything. I told her I was in a relationship with you, what more do you want?"

"How about not letting her drag you into places and preventing anything further than small talk?"

"She's the new student, I wasn't going to be rude, especially not when it was a first impression. Which you seem to have a habit of being rude on first impressions."

Marinette blinked at Adrien, not sure whether to feel hurt or guilty. "I wasn't being rude, I just assumed-"

"Exactly. You assume way too quickly, it happens frequently so it's becoming a huge problem. This is beneath you, Marinette. If you want to prove Lila wrong, be the better woman and go apologize."

"I have nothing to apologize about…" Marinette's voice lowered as she looked away from Adrien.

Adrien took hold of Marinette's shoulders and turned her chin towards him. "Princess, I understand you aren't in the most comfortable position right now, but you put yourself here. She's at risk of getting akumatized, and you have to go fix it before it's too late."

"But, Adrien-"

The sound of screaming, followed by teacher yelling orders, cut Marinette off.

Adrien and Marinette ran through the library doors.

Marinette ran in front, "It couldn't be…" She and Adrien found Nino and Alya arguing.

"What's going on?" Adrien touched Nino's shoulder, who was holding onto Alya's waist.

Nino looked at Adrien, "A meteorite was sighted. We _should_ be taking cover, but Alya wants to go film it."

Marinette walked closer to Alya, "Are you crazy?"

Alya looked annoyed, "It's no big deal! Ladybug and Chat Noir will stop it, no problem."

"Well, maybe, but the question is _how_." Marinette looked concerned.

"Who knows? I don't doubt them. Chat Noir's cataclysm is my guess." Alya slipped free of Nino's grasp and ran off.

"Alya!" Nino chased after her.

"We'd better go," Adrien nudged Marinette.

She nodded, "Let's go."

"Cataclysm… that's a good idea." Ladybug tapped her chin, watching the small fiery dot in the sky.

"What if it doesn't break into small enough pieces? It could still do a lot of damage," Chat Noir leaned on his knee, propped up on the cornice of the roof.

"It probably won't be much different from the damage an akuma could do. But the meteorite is still really high up."

"It'll probably take a few minutes for to reach the ground."

"If we can get up there, your cataclysm could give the smaller pieces time to burn up and disintegrate before reaching the ground."

"Maybe. Still, even though my staff can go as high as I need it to, I feel as though it wasn't meant to go that high. And there are a lot of reasons it could be dangerous to up there, aside from the fact that losing balance on my staff could mean a fatal fall. It's worth the risk, and it's my job to make that risk, but-"

"Don't start talking like that! Especially not for some bigass rock. Anyway, you know I'd catch you. But if you want to try and find another way, I can see what lucky charm gives me."

"Wait, look!" Chat Noir pointed to where the meteorite was.

Ladybug whipped around and watched an orange colored superhuman flying towards the meteorite, stopping directly beneath it, catching it, and throwing it back into space. The once terrified city stopped and applauded the new and mysterious hero - that is, heroine - as she came down gently.

"Wow," Chat stood up straight, "Nicely done."

"I guess…" Ladybug turned around to leave, but an orange blur whizzed towards them.

"Hey, guys, I'm Volpina. I could use your help." Volpina made looked at them briefly, then jumped back into the air as an indication to follow her.

"Alright," Chat Noir instantly followed Volpina, Ladybug stood for a few seconds, stunned, then followed unenthusiastically.

Ladybug and Chat Noir followed Volpina's pointed finger when they came to a stop.

"I don't believe it, it's Hawkmoth!" Chat Noir nearly lost his balance.

Ladybug gasped. It was such a strange and - if anything - anticlimactic occurrence for Hawkmoth to appear. And just standing there doing nothing at that.

"Something big must be happening for him to show up in public like this," Ladybug crouched low, as did the others.

"We're going to have to work together if we want to take him down," Volpina looked at Chat Noir, for little _too_ long, "By the way, it's nice to meet you _Chat Noir_ , oh and nice outfit!" Her eyes fell on his body, Ladybug quickly leaned next to Volpina, 'accidentally' shoving her.

"A meteorite _and_ Hawkmoth on the same day?! Don't you think that's a little strange?" Ladybug furrowed her eyebrows at Chat Noir, who blinked at her, confused. The naive little-

"What makes you say that?" Volpina grinned slyly.

"I was _talking_ to Chat Noir," Ladybug stood up.

Chat Noir stood up with her, "I'm finding _you_ a little strange, My Lady, is everything alright?"

Wrong answer. If Ladybug could throw him across Paris right now, she would. How could he humiliate her like that?! They would definitely be talking about this later.

Ladybug clenched her teeth, "I'm fine, just _fine_ ," she turned back to Volpina, "Hey, Volpina, what's your miraculous?"

For a moment Volpina looked worried and uncomfortable, but snapped out of it and lifted the chain around her neck, "My necklace, of course."

Ladybug's smug smile dropped, her eyes hating the sight of the accessory, "Well, what powers does it give you?"

"The power of _flight_ and super _strength_." Volpina needed out of this conversation. She pretended to be shocked when Hawkmoth suddenly disappeared, "He's getting away!"

Volpina flew away and Ladybug and Chat Noir ran after her until they had spotted Hawkmoth again. "Ok, here's the plan; Ladybug you come in from the right, Chat Noir from the left, and I'll come from… _behind_."

Absurd. " _No_ ," Ladybug retorted, "I'll come in from behind, Chat Noir from the right, and you'll…" she was only now realizing how silly she sounded, but it was too late to back down, "... come from the left."

Volpina laughed, "Fine, makes no difference to _me_." She flew away.

"Can you chill out a little?" Chat Noir glared at Ladybug, "You're not being very fair to your new teammate." He got up to leave.

"Wait a minute." Ladybug ordered, Chat Noir stopped, "Why can't you get it through your head that something is off about Volpina?"

" _Ladybug_ , we talked about this-"

"This is different. This is worse. You keep siding with her over _me_ , and it's not fair that you'd trust me less- you've known me way longer and you'd think I could at least get some respect-"

"Listen to yourself, you sound like a brat. You're the one not being fair, and you're the one who's having trust issues, and being disrespectful. She's new, you should be trying to make friends with her. I can tell you this much, if you had been this way when we first met, I'd never want to team up with you again. You're giving her a hard time when she helped us out today already, that's tacky." Chat Noir sighed, he looked strained. He didn't enjoy being the one to tell her that. He turned away and left.

Ladybug trembled, fighting back angry tears. It took everything inside her to keep from darting off in the wrong direction to throw a tantrum in her bedroom. She knew there had to be _something_ to reveal the truth about Lila, she wasn't sure what the truth was yet, so for now, she'd have to play along with unbiased cooperation until she knew for sure.

 ***This action that Marinette made is the equivalent of flicking someone off in France, and some other European countries. You may not understand the title if you've never listened to Ironspy- by Splashdown from the Redshift album. Again, a review would be greatly appreciated.**


	18. Dare

**lol what a lame title, i had to rush guys I'm dying. Also, rip me I just found out you could put a drawing in each chapter I'm such a dummy. I'll be doing that soon! And I'll repost the old chapters too!**

Ladybug froze. The tip of her foot trying to slide away from a missile target lock-on to no avail, as it would follow her. Dozens of various missiles surrounded her.

"Don't move, Ladybug," Volpina stood slightly above her, grinning.

" _Volpina_. What's with the missiles? This is new."

"Are you afraid, Ladybug? No hard feelings? You can blame Marinette for needing proof that I was better than you."

Lila. She was akumatized, Adrien had been right. Nevermind that, "These missiles aren't real, and neither are your powers or your miraculous. You're under the control of Hawkmoth, I've got you figured out!"

Volpina snarled, "No one will believe you! Even Chat Noir trusts me. You'll just be making yourself look worse and making me look better! Just hand over your miraculous or that _building_. _Goes_. _Down_."

Volpina played her flute. The other end generated a growing light orb until it reached top energy and zapped the building it was pointed at, causing it to begin to crumble from the top.

Ladybug stood her ground, eying the building nervously. She didn't want to believe anything Volpina said. Her being an akumatized villain meant Hawkmoth had most likely been a trick. Not to mention that Volpina didn't argue when Ladybug had called the missiles fake. She wouldn't hand her earrings over, after all what use would it be saving a building if it meant putting all of Paris in Hawkmoths hands? Volpina was bluffing… hopefully.

A pigeon flew in front of the crumbling building, causing it to vanish and reveal a standing building. Ladybug smiled, "I don't remember Bullshit being one of your super powers."

Volpina scowled, positioning herself for a fight. Ladybug threw her yo-yo at Volpina, she vanished the same way the building had.

"Dammit," Ladybug opened her yo-yo and called Chat Noir, "I'll bet you haven't had any luck catching Hawkmoth."

"Haven't even gotten close to him. How'd you guess?"

"Because Volpina is an akumatized villain. She was setting us up," Ladybug tried not to smile proudly, but it was always nice to be right.

"Oh? I guess you were right to be suspicious-"

Naturally, Ladybug could smell a liar from a mile away. Maybe next time Chat Noir would learn to listen to the right person.

"-But that didn't give you the right to act that way. By the way, it wouldn't happen to be Lila, would it?"

"Nevermind that. She's probably headed for your place. I'll meet you there," Ladybug hung up. Finally, a chance to beat Volpina's ass.

Ladybug and Chat Noir waited for Volpina in Adrien's bedroom, and Ladybug had already sparked another argument.

"I don't care," she huffed, "I'm still mad at you."

"You're making a mountain out of a molehill."

"A mountain? You can bet your ass you'll be in _mountains_ of trouble after this."

"Me?! What do you mean?! And it's _heaps_ of trouble, by the way."

"You're only pissing me off more."

"L- Marinette, I'm losing my patience with you."

"Is that a fact? So then do something about it, I dare you!"

Chat turned around from the window and looked at Ladybug, crossing his arms. "Don't test me-"

"Adrien- What are you two doing here?!" Volpina jumped down in front of Ladybug and Chat Noir.

"Oh, just the bitch I was looking for!" Ladybug whirled her yo-yo.

Volpina spun her flute and held it like a staff. "Where's Adrien?"

"Wherever he is, it's better than being here with _you_." Ladybug charged towards Volpina.

Volpina generated clones of herself all around her. Ladybug whipped her yo-yo through all of them.

"She's already gone!" Chat Noir pointed out the window, Volpina was leaping over a building in the distance.

"She's either looking for you or she gave up. Let's check the school," Ladybug walked to the window.

"She didn't really go in the direction of the school. My guess is the Eiffel Tower."

Ladybug stopped. "What makes you so sure?"

"Because it's being streamed live on the Ladyblog," Chat Noir showed Ladybug the screen on his staff.

"Alright, let's go."

Volpina cackled at the top of the Eiffel Tower, grasping Alya's wrist as she dangled her over the edge.

"Do you think it's really her?" Chat Noir glanced at Ladybug, who was looking up at Volpina.

"Well… how would she know to take someone as specific as Alya?"

"I mean, she has interviewed Lila, so she knows how big of a fan Alya is of you… if only she knew."

"What was that?" Now _that_ made Ladybug look over at Chat.

"Anyway, maybe if I go up to Volpina you can just be ready to catch her if it really is her."

Ladybug glared at Chat, then came back, "Let's look at the Ladyblog first."

"You're running out of time, Ladybug! If you don't want her to be a sidewalk pancake - and have your heroic reputation ruined - hand over your earrings, _now_ ," Volpina yelled.

Chat pulled his staff out, "Good thinking," he lowered his voice, " _For once today_ ,"

"I heard that! You really wanna go there, Chat?" Ladybug grabbed Chat Noir's collar, making the bell jingle.

Chat Noir pushed Ladybug's hand aside. "I'm not the one you should be fighting here. We don't have time to argue."

"You're the one who-"

"Ok, you're right, I provoked you. I'm sorry. I just… I'm really mad right now. I'm trying to keep my cool, and it's really hard," Chat Noir looked at the screen on his staff, "It's not her, Alya is still streaming from somewhere on the ground."

Ladybug looked up at Volpina, "We aren't falling for your lies anymore, Volpina!" She jumped up, swinging her yo-yo around some railing at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Chat Noir followed. Volpina backed away, the fake Alya vanished.

They were met with dozens of Volpinas. Ladybug called for Lucky Charm.

"It's a chocolate bar…" Ladybug squinted at the reflective wrapper.

Chat leaned over, "Is it a Snickers? You could use one of those- oh, God, sorry I did it again."

" _No_ , it's not a Snickers. But I know just what to do with this." Ladybug took out the chocolate bar and flipped it over. The bright reflection shown right through the fraud Volpinas, there was the original, in the center.

Chat Noir ran forward and used Cataclysm on the tower Volpina was standing on. She came tumbling down with the tower. The broken rods fell perfectly around her, trapping her inside.

Ladybug approached Volpina, who looked terrified and upset. She realized her anger towards Lila had subsided… but she was still furious with Chat Noir. Ladybug snatched Volpina's Necklace, and threw it on the ground, shattering it.

After purifying the akuma and throwing her Lucky Charm into the air, Ladybug knelt besides Lila. "I'm sorry someone had to hurt your feelings because of me. I'm sure this girl, Marinette, feels the same way. Just be sure to be comfortable with yourself, and find someone who won't need you to change."

Lila got up quickly, "Stop lying right to my face. Marinette doesn't feel sorry. And just so you know…" she looked Ladybug up and down, "I don't see what Adrien sees in you." She walked away to the elevator.

Chat Noir cringed. As if things couldn't get any worse.

Ladybug stood up. "Well…" she shot an angry look at Chat Noir, "As for you."

Chat winced, "Who? Me? Oh.. no, no, no- see, I've decided I'm not even mad anymore. This whole thing was silly. Let's just call it a day and move on with our lives."

"Come here, _Adrien_."

"Ah, I'd love to but I can't- I'm gonna detransform soon… and I gotta get home before it's time for dinner." Ladybug was a lot scarier when she was mad but _he_ wasn't.

Chat Noir lept onto the railing of the Eiffel Tower, ready to make his escape.

Ladybug smirked, "Fine, I'll let you have a head start. I know where you live."

"I'm _really_ starting to wish we didn't know each other's identities." Chat Noir lept away, he needed to figure out a way to keep Ladybug out of his room.

Adrien paced around his room nervously.

Plagg sat on the bed eating cheese, "What are you gonna do? It's not like you can stop her from coming."

"I'll keep the windows locked!"

"An angry woman isn't afraid to break windows."

Adrien looked at Plagg desperately, "She can't do that! She wouldn't… would she?" He snapped his fingers, "I know! I'll turn on the security."

Plagg reached for another slice of cheese, "Great so, try explaining that to your dad now."

Adrien groaned.

The bathroom door slid open loudly. Adrien yelped.

Ladybug came through the doorway, her earrings all charged up again, an angry twinkle in her eye. "You left your cat door open."

Adrien backed away, tripping over things along the way. He ran into his bed and almost fell, but Ladybug caught him by the shirt.

Adrien laughs nervously, "C'mon, can't we put this behind us? _I_ did. You wouldn't hurt an innocent civilian would you?"

" _Innocence_ is debatable," Ladybug furrowed her eyebrows.

There was a knock on the door, "Adrien?" Nathalie called, "Is everything alright? I thought I heard you scream."

Ladybug stared at Adrien, telling him to choose his words carefully. "N-no, it's alright! I just dropped something is all."

"Alright." Nathalie walked away.

Adrien looks at Ladybug, "I did you a favor! Imagine what would've happened if she had caught you attacking me!"

"I think the real question is what would've happened to you-" Ladybug pushed Adrien onto his bed, laid on top of him, and put her arms around his neck. Then she leaned away and pulled on Adrien, flipping him on top of her, "-If she saw a certain 'innocent civilian' like this."

Adrien's eyes widened, "You wouldn't have!"

Ladybug pulled his face closer, "Wanna bet?"

Adrien's voice shook, "no…"

Ladybug pushed Adrien back over, then took him by the hand and walked him to his window.

"What are you gonna do to me?" Adrien swallowed hard.

"You'll find out soon enough." Ladybug wrapped her arm around his waist and jumped out the window.

Adrien had a bad feeling. The wind blew in his air, he stood at the top of a building, tied to Ladybug's yo-yo in a very particular way as for it to not unravel. Ladybug has Plagg in her fist.

"Can we talk about this?" Adrien pleaded.

Ladybug pushed him over the edge, he screamed all the way down. Swiftly, Ladybug pulled back up on the yo-yo, bringing back a gasping and wheezing Adrien.

When he looks like he's about to say something, Ladybug yo-yo's him back down again.

Adrien comes back up, "I'm gonna tell Alya that Ladybug is actually very crueeAAAAAAAAAAH - and then she'll delete that stupid blog AAAAAAAAH."

This time Ladybug answered, "The 'stupid blog' you used to have bookmarked?"

"YEAH WELL THAT BLOG WAS FILLED WITH LIE- AAAAAAAAAAAH - okay, okay! I've learned my lesson, I've had enough- AAAAAAAAAAH - Please! This is dangerous!- AAAAAAAAAH"

Plagg cut in while Adrien was still coming back up, "He's right though, this is kinda dangerous."

"I know what I'm doing," Ladybug answered bluntly.

Adrien comes back with tears in his eyes, "Are we done now?!"

Ladybug looks sympathetic for half a second, then drops him one last time. She reels him back in and unties him, turning to take a trembling Adrien back home. Adrien clings to Ladybug as she swings back to his roof.

Plagg laughed, "Chat Noir was never this scared when he jumped rooftop to rooftop or went freefalling on his staff."

"THAT'S BECAUSE IT'S DIFFERENT WHEN YOU HAVE A MAGICAL SUIT ON!" Adrien snapped.

Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo around Adrien again without tying it, and flung him over his roof and swinging him into his room.

Adrien got up from his carpeted floor - after seeing his life flash before his eyes again - and walked up to Ladybug, who was sitting on his sofa.

Adrien hugged her, apologizing repeatedly. When he calmed down and he was over the terror, he stopped and looked at Ladybug. "That was terrible of you!"

"Well, you deserved it."

"I did _not_. No one deserves that! And how does _that_ make you feel better?!"

He made a good point. Ladybug had been caught in the moment, thinking how funny it would be to pull Adrien up and down the side of a building. "... ok, you're right, that was pretty bad. I'm sorry. But I couldn't stand you undermining me like that."

"I know you're mad, I understand why you would be, and I'll admit it's terrifying when you're mad to begin with. But you know what, Ladyb- Marinette? I was only being fair. I'm not here to satisfy you for your convenience. You didn't even know if Volpina really was bad or that she was an akumatized villain. Even if you had known, it was your fault. The way you reacted to Lila was overboard, even for you. It kind of felt like you were getting possessive, and you know who else used to do that?"

Ladybug's face saddened guiltily. Chloe. She was turning into Chloe. She didn't want this. Not after all those years complaining about her. Not after watching her, thinking, 'how could she possibly do these terrible things so shamelessly?'. Ladybug covered her mouth, the corners of her lips tugging down as her eyes watered and her face reddened.

Adrien knew he had to tell her, but there was still a sickening feeling in his stomach. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Ladybug shook her head, her voice cracked, "I had this coming."

Adrien took Ladybug's arm, "Marinette, can I see you?"

Ladybug sniffled, "Tikki, spots off."

Marinette covered her face more. Adrien put his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. He felt a sense of familiarity. The last time they had been like this she had been crying for an entirely different reason, and a lot softer.

Tikki came to Marinette's shoulder, "I'm sorry to bother you right now, Marinette, but you need to see the Guardian. That book you had, Adrien, it's very sacred and dangerous in the wrong hands. It's time you met the guardian in order to decode it!"

Adrien nodded at Tikki, then looked down at Marinette, curled up in his arms. "Are you up for it, Princess?"

Marinette lifted her head, her face and eyes were red, puffy, and wet. She nodded slowly.

 **In case you're a nerd like me and you want to know how it would feel to be in Adrien's position, don't worry I did the math myself. I made a few guestimates, maybe Adrien is about 56 kg, and I tried averaging out the length of his torso. With the yo-yo wrapped around him completely, it spread out the force very nicely over a large surface area- of course my calculations could be wrong because I'm looking at some scribbles I made on a piece of paper about a week ago and I may be deciphering them wrong. Anyway, I assumed the building was about 80 meters high, meaning he had 4 seconds to impact and Ladybug had 3 seconds to bring him back up. I believe his surface area turned out to be about .11 meters squared, and his mass times the force of gravity over 3 seconds is about 14,000-15,000 pa. This is not as big as it sounds, it's only 2 pounds per square inch. Which could be closely replicated if you had Usain Bolt running at full speed and ramming into you. Sure it packs a small punch, but Adrien is perfectly fine. To put it into perspective, a professional boxer punches with a force of 1,200-1,800 pounds per square inch. OUCH!**


	19. Before i start writing, you should know

The next chapter will have to wait about a week, not because I'm not sure what to write, but because it's been months since I've updated other fics. It's time I acknowledged their existence again. For anyone reading Maid For It, today's the day I finally post chapter 2! Yay! I mean, that's the intention. Thanks for your patience :)


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